The Journey of Danny and Mindy
by daysofyeshi
Summary: Danny Castellano realises his feelings for Mindy Lahiri and decides to act on it. A lot of obstacles arise, but how does he win her over?
1. Danny's Realisation

Mindy Lahiri was the person who flashed into his head when he thought of the last person he would see before he died. Mindy Lahiri, the annoying co-worker and a 'woman of colour' was now the love of his life. It had all come to him so sudden. Mindy had asked him the question the day after she had asked Jamie that same question at the Empire State Building. Back then, he thought of Christina simply because he didn't want to die with a cold broken heart. Now, thinking about it again, he couldn't believe the one person he thought was the downer of his life was the one who made him look forward to life.

As he stared after her running out of the room, he looked back at the couple with their new-born triplets. They were so happy and they had said yes at life, even though they didn't expect it. So what did Danny have to lose?

Danny was reading his newspaper at 3:24 am in the doctors' lounge, yet all he could think about was the new realisation he had made. He thought back to when he had first met her. They were both in residency and he had thought she was self-absorbed, desperate and just plain irritating. He did find her attractive though, but that was always pushed to the back of his mind. When he found out he was working with her at Shulman and Associates, he was so angry and couldn't believe his bad luck. Now, she was the light in his life. She brought him happiness, whether it was her casual insults at him or just her general bubbliness. He had loved their intimate moments, and couldn't forget when he held her hand on the flight back to New York. He had wanted to protect her even though he was also scared of turbulence, but at the same time, wanted to hold her for the first time. Her reaction was not of repulsion, but of wariness. He knew from then on, what he had with Mindy was something neither of them had ever experienced.

A figure came into the room and he had only known too well who it was. He wanted to tell her everything, but the closed off person that he was prevented it. Instead, he tried to pretend he had somewhere to go.

'I'm gonna go-'

He stared at the person in front of him. It was in fact Mindy Lahiri, but had short hair. Her beautiful long hair that he thought made her authentic was gone.

'Oh my God, what'd you do to your hair?'

Mindy smiled. 'I cut it!' She had seemed proud of it which Danny couldn't fathom.

'Oh I hate it so much.'

'That is very rude. It's short now; you can't just say you hate it.'

Danny was shocked. 'Wow, only three women can pull off short hair, like Audrey Hepburn, Halle Berry and Ellen DeGeneres.' He had noticed how he missed out Christina, but he wanted to get her out of his mind. 'Guys are not gonna go for this, I'm telling you they're not.'

'Alright, then it's a good thing you're not my boyfriend.'

'Yeah, it is a good thing.' He didn't mean it though.

'I like it.'

'It might grow on me; we have the same haircut now.'

They both laughed and he felt an impulse of worry. He knew he had to do something, to show her his feelings for her.

'I told Christina that I wanted to slow things down, so, I think that's…'

In actual fact, he hadn't talked to her. He had no interest, because she did nothing for him. Her presence did not make his heart beat double its pace. She did not make him sweat when the air was quiet around them. Her smile did not send him shivers along his spine.

Mindy was quiet. She said nothing and just looked at him. He wanted to know what she was thinking. Just like that, everything was quiet. No one was around, talking about troublesome patients or work hours. It was just air. He looked at her, observing every single detail. Her new haircut which he was getting used to, her eyes that were deep with a shade of brown, the corners of the small mouth, her square framed glasses that complemented her face. Now was the time.

He reached for her glasses, touching the sides of her soft face. 'You got something…' Danny stared at the glasses, pretending to be all interested in clearing an invisible speck of dust when he was wondering whether he was crazy in what he was about to do. Sitting up to face Mindy at the same level, he placed them back onto her face, staring with longing. He wanted to kiss her so badly, not because of desire but simply to express his love for her. One kiss would tell her how much he meant to him.

'There was just a little schmutz…'

Mindy looked back at him, as if she knew what he was thinking, as if she felt the same as he did. Her cheeks tinted a slight red and she stared back, looking at his hollow eyes and down to his lips as well. It was everything he would have wanted. He could have forced himself onto her but he wanted to savour this moment. Their first kiss.

Suddenly, Mindy looked away and back and began to open her mouth.

'Casey and I got back together.'

His eyes were about to sting with tears and his heart was sinking literally, he felt. Their moment was ruined but more importantly, she was gone. Any possession he had had over her disappeared in a blink second. He had no grasp over her and was nothing. He was nothing and would always be nothing.

'You did?' Danny struggled to even get the words out. He smiled the smile of a broken heart, the smile that he had when he saw Christina with another man. It was his luck. He would never find love and if he did, that love would be taken away from him.

'Yeah, so I'm gonna go to Haiti.'

The pang of being lost hit him hard. He would never see her again – well that was how he felt. A year could expand to forever; no one knew what love would bring. He didn't know either.

'Good for you.' He looked away and sank down to the couch, or rather, rock bottom. Taking his newspaper that he had never even read, he stared blankly at the black and white print. The woman next to him was just a blur now. He wanted to run out of there and into black space. Danny Castellano felt that he had nothing left to give.


	2. A Confused Mindy

It had been two days since the incident in the doctor's lounge and Mindy could not get her mind off of it. Danny, her best friend was about to kiss her. It seemed so surreal and she felt as if it was a dream. She had known that there was always an attraction, but it wasn't as if she could ever think of pursuing it forwards. He was her friend, first and foremost, then her co-worker. If anything had happened between them, she would hate herself because his friendship meant more to her than she had ever realised. Her fling with Jeremy was minor, at a time when she was emotionally distraught all because of Tom. Even when the fling had ended, it wasn't awkward… it was as if it had never happened.

Was Danny having the same idea as Jeremy? A small fling with a co-worker? Mindy knew that it was far from that. The way he had looked at her was a way she had never noticed from him before. He looked vulnerable and gave a sense of yearning. She was with Casey, but the feeling that had bubbled inside her was something she hadn't felt in a long time. It was like she was a hormonal teenager, experiencing the moment-before-the-first-kiss with her first ever boyfriend. Yet her current situation had stopped her from kissing him, because even though she would have wanted that, the consequences would have been traumatising. Danny and Mindy had both been cheated on; by people they trusted and loved. Cheating on Casey and Christina would make them no better.

She felt relieved she didn't give in to him. He was pulling her into him with no words, just his eyes. Casey had never given her that look. What did this all mean? Did Danny like her? Was he just tired, or in the mood? What was going on?

Mindy went to have a shower, and tried to think things through. Okay, so Danny and her were friends right? She looked over her relationship with him. Danny always criticised her, annoyed her about each and everything. Her taste in clothes, her taste in guys, her love for celebrity gossip… the list continued. But they were getting closer with each day that they saw each other. When she was cheated on by Josh, he was the only one there for her. He stayed by her bed, asking if she was okay. He even told her that she would find a guy who wouldn't think he was getting a bad deal. After that day, they were slowly becoming best friends. Gwen, Alex and Maggie were busier in the last few months with Alex getting engaged and Maggie getting promoted. They were hardly around and Danny seemed to be taking their place, yet she didn't mind as such. She felt the same for him, wanting to care for him and help him with whatever situation he put himself in (though she had to admit, he did more for her than she did for him). It came to a point when she felt their friendship was becoming more than a friendship. Santa Fe. These two words haunted her. Josh said he thought Mindy and Danny were a thing, and she had a way of ignoring things even though they were happening right in front of her. He was right, because when Danny held her hand on the plane, she knew something was different. She realised this 'thing' that she had with Danny was changing and she wasn't sure in which direction. Yet she continued to ignore it and pretend like nothing had happened. Christina's arrival slowed things down, averted Danny's attention away from Mindy which she was grateful for. She wanted to think things through but Casey and her bond was strengthening and soon she found herself forgetting her 'thing'. Everything was going back to normal, until two days ago.

Casey was calling her. She was reluctant to answer, because she felt so guilty. She was going to kiss Danny had she not said anything. She was feeling something she hadn't felt but it wasn't for her boyfriend. It was for her best friend.

'Hey honey, what's up?'

'Hey babe! We're leaving in three weeks. The flight is scheduled for 6th June. Just thought I'd prepare you, because you know how you are with packing essentials. Everything becomes an essential.'

Mindy was quiet for a few seconds, yet it felt like forever. 'Haha very funny. Thanks for telling me Casey. And yes, I will be packing my entire closet even if I won't be wearing everything.'

They talked for about half an hour. Mindy's mind had forgotten Danny, just for that moment in time. But after hanging up, he came back. She wasn't sure whether to talk things through or do what she did best, and ignore everything.

It was Monday and the weekend had passed. Danny and Mindy did not speak throughout the weekend, purely because Danny felt humiliated and lost and Mindy felt confused and guilty. A mixture of emotions hovered at Shulman and Associates. When Mindy entered the lift, she found Danny there looking down at his feet. He looked up and saw her, giving his yearning vulnerable look again. She felt choked up and cleared her throat.

'Uh, hey Danny. How was your weekend?'

Danny was silent. He looked to his left, away from her but then back at her. 'It… it was good thanks. How was yours?'

'Great, great. I need to sort my patients out before I leave.' Mindy paused. 'Are you and Jeremy planning to find a replacement?'

His voice was hoarse. 'I'm not sure, yet. You can ask Jeremy, he might have decided. I don't know.'

Mindy felt horrible and guilty for Casey and Danny. She had rejected him and she knew what it was like to be rejected. What felt worse was that she rejected Danny, who never opened up about anything.

'Look, Danny. I need to talk to you.'

They had reached their floor. Danny grunted and walked out, his hands in his pockets. 'Er…I'm very busy today Mindy. I can talk to you after work if you like.' He walked into the office at a fast pace, leaving her by the lift doors, feeling worse than at her Christmas party.

It had been a long day. Mindy had five patients, each of them angry that she was leaving. She remembered when she was at medical school and how one of her best lecturers became pregnant and left three months prior to exams. It was her first year as well. When she left, another lecturer replaced her and his teaching style was completely outdated and ineffective. She had no one to rely on but herself to do well in those exams and in the end, she did it. But she felt angry that the person she relied on was leaving her. This made her think of Danny again.

During lunch, he ate by himself in his office. He hadn't come out even once. This feeling was killing her, so she did the one thing she hadn't done in a long while. She prayed.

'Please God, I need your help. I need a sign. I love Casey…well I think I do. But this thing with Danny is eating me away. I feel so guilty, upset and angry at myself. Danny is hurt right now and it's all because of me. I'm acting like everything is fine with Casey when it really isn't. Am I doing the right thing? Should I be with Casey and go to Haiti? Is he the one? I'm just so confused right now and I feel so depressed. I've got three weeks to think about this, but if you help me now it would make things easier. Please, you're everything I've got.'

Danny heard everything, because he was about to come into her office to actually talk to her. He heard the pain in her voice and couldn't help but feel sad for putting her through this misery. At the same time, he felt hope. She was doubtful and unhappy, because she wasn't sure if Casey was the one.

Danny had three weeks to fight for Mindy… and he was going to make sure he won the fight.


	3. Confrontations and Adrenaline

Danny knocked on Mindy's door and entered. His presence had startled her and she felt embarrassed, hoping that he had heard nothing. Danny smiled.

'Hey, you wanted to talk?' He did his lop-sided smirk which she had found infuriating at times but most of the time, she felt giddy.

'Err… yeah.' Mindy looked at him, trying to see his face. He seemed normal, as if nothing had happened in the past few days. Mindy was wondering whether to continue this conversation. 'I wanted to talk about what happened at the doctors' lounge, if that is okay with you.' She looked at him deeply, concentrating on his face.

Even though Danny was trying to keep his cool, he was the complete opposite. Mindy somehow had this effect on him, where he would just crumble whenever she was around him. He knew what she was going through, but running away from his feelings did nothing but cause him pain. Knowing that she was unsure about Casey and was considering him was what kept him going. He smiled again, praying he didn't make a fool of himself.

'Okay. What exactly do you want to talk about?'

_Stop doing this to me Danny!_ Mindy was dying inside, hoping he would show some sort of emotion so she would know where to go from there. She was getting frustrated. Where was God's sign?

'Look, Danny. You know exactly what I am talking about. You were nearly going to kiss me for God's sake! How are you acting like everything is normal? Okay… you weren't today morning but now you are and it's freaking me out. I want to know what you are thinking and I can't stop thinking about it! You are driving me crazy!' Mindy stood up and went to face her window. She was feeling worse than ever. Why did Danny have to ruin things?

Danny on the other hand was quiet. He saw her back to the window and became stiff. She had approached the topic directly with no subtlety or anything. What was he going to do? He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, even though he had a desire to run out of her office. He felt like kicking himself.

'I'm sorry, Mindy. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through.' He made her turn around to face him. He felt the warmth of her shoulders under his hands and he knew a sweat bath was about to occur. He let go and wiped his brow, hoping Mindy wouldn't notice.

Of course Mindy noticed. She was getting the feeling that he was embarrassed and was finding this conversation difficult. Danny was not one to open up and when he did, it was because he felt comfortable doing it. This was not one of these times.

Danny continued. 'That night, in the doctors' lounge, I did want to kiss you.' He looked away, wary of Mindy's face looking at him. This was a nightmare. 'I… I don't know what I was thinking. You would never have kissed me back and I'm sorry for making you worry about this stupid thing. It's nothing, really. I know I avoided you but it was hard to take in. It was just one of those things, if you know what I mean.' Danny seemed to be talking utter rubbish. It didn't make sense to him and he was certain it had made no sense to her. 'You're a great friend, Min. Don't take this seriously and just forget it ever happened.' He smiled and went close to hug her. At least in this way, he wouldn't have had to see her face. 'I'm gonna go and get coffee, you want to come?' He hoped she would say no.

Mindy looked blank. 'Err, sorry I can't. I've got to meet Casey later on. But I'll see you tomorrow.' She felt his arms around her and the feeling of being enclosed in his embrace caused a tingling sensation. It was ridiculous, this feeling. She let go and smiled. 'Thanks for clearing things up, Danny. You're a great friend too.'

Danny was relieved and smiled his huge grin. 'Okay then, see you.' He walked out of her office almost immediately.

Mindy went to sit at her desk and pondered her thoughts. Right now, Danny had just admitted wanting to kiss her so she did not imagine it. She still wasn't sure if Danny liked her. The way he handled it was just weird, like he was trying to get away from everything. She couldn't blame him though. Their status was friends for now. But what did this mean about Casey and Haiti?

Danny sat alone in his favourite coffee shop, thinking about what he had just done and wanting to die a quick death. Why did he enter her office? All it did was make him admit to more of his feelings to a person he did NOT want to ruin things with. He blamed it on the adrenaline. Mindy was everything to him and he knew that. But she didn't and she needed to know that. Danny knew that blurting out his feelings was not the way. Mindy wanted a romance and she was going to get it. He was willing to do everything he could to win her over, because that was what she meant to him. He just had to find a way.

After a long and hard day of work, Mindy was finally at Casey's house. They were snuggled up on the couch, watching Real Housewives. One thing she had noticed was that unlike Danny, Casey didn't make stupid remarks that irritated her but made her laugh at the same time. Instead, he just watched and laughed along with her. Surely a guy who liked the same show and actually enjoying it should be enough for her? For some reason, she felt empty. She did love Casey, but she wasn't sure how much. It didn't help that Danny confused her and made her rethink everything in her life. She realised then that she would rather watch it with Danny's side comments than Casey laughing with her. Something was clearly wrong with her.

Mindy struggled to sleep. She felt Casey's breath on her neck and his arm around her. A few days ago, this would have been perfect. Nothing would go wrong; her life was going in the right direction with the guy of her dreams. Suddenly it all seemed crazy. Going to Haiti with a guy she was dating for three months? What was she doing? For some insane reason, she found herself dialling Danny with a feeling he would pick up.

'Danny? It's Mindy.' She whispered, hoping Casey would not hear. Of course, his snoring prevented it from the offset.

'Hey, Mindy. Why are you calling me at this time?' He had sounded normal, as if he wasn't asleep. Could he not sleep either?

'I need to talk to you. Please, I need your advice.'

There was silence from the other end. Eventually a voice answered.

'Yeah, sure. Do you want to meet?'

'Yeah, okay.'


	4. Pizza With Staten Island On The Side

Danny and Mindy found themselves at a pizza parlour, at 4:30am. They were the only ones there, Mindy in her hoodie and leggings and Danny in his normal attire of a shirt and jeans. They sat at a table, with a small pizza to share between them even though they weren't hungry. They looked at each other for at least two minutes, wondering what to say. It was awkward but at the same time, they were comfortable.

'Okay, so what's the problem?' Danny gave his look that he gave before he was about to kiss her. He was making her feel uneasy. Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all.

Mindy looked down at her half-eaten pizza and then looked back up. 'It's about this whole thing with Casey.'

Danny winced. What exactly would he say to her after his admittance a few hours ago? He was quiet.

'Don't you have anything to say?' Mindy was getting annoyed. She wondered why she called him so early in the morning to ask him advice about Casey especially at this weird place in their relationship.

'Min, are you happy? Are you sure Casey makes you happy?' Danny looked at her for an answer. He knew that the increasing doubts of Casey was good for him, but to what extent? How could he be so sure she would leave Casey for him?

'I think so. He makes me laugh, he knows me well. He makes me a better person and he's great in bed.' Mindy joked to try and improve their current situation. Danny's response was a simple disturbed face.

'Okay, be serious here. Forget how he makes you feel now at this moment in time. The real question is, is there a future with him? Can you see him there, taking your kids to the park every weekend? What if he's constantly going on volunteering trips to countries more than 1000 miles away? Will you be able to handle it?' Danny knew he was overstepping the mark. He knew that no one would be good enough for Mindy and he felt he was the only one who could make her happy. Maybe he was being unfair, but it was a risk he had to take.

Mindy was silent and stared outside the window to the busy streets of Manhattan. Casey would be a great dad. But she didn't want to be a single mother for the majority of their married life. Then again, this was Danny she was talking to. Any guy that she had been involved with was always bad according to him. They were never good enough for her. Knowing this, why did she ask his opinion? These questions were building up and it was causing a slight pain in her head.

'My head is hurting. I don't know why.' She started rubbing her head with her fingertips, pressing at all the pressure points. Her eyes were closed, deep in concentration. She opened them to find Danny moving his chair closer so he could massage her head.

'It's okay Mindy. Everything that's happened recently is just getting into your head. Forget everything for now. Just think about your happy place.'

Mindy's head went to that time before she met Casey, where she was over Josh and just happy being the single girl. She had a few guys between then, from Brendan to Jamie to a one day thing with Sam. She realised that being without a guy was not a big deal. She was happy. The main reason was because she had Danny there as her best friend who she could count on.

After they both managed to eat all of the pizza (after all, the economy was tight they couldn't afford to waste a pizza) they walked onto the street side by side. It was so noisy at this time in the morning and the sky was becoming a nice shade of pink.

'I know right now you're confused with what is going on in your life but I have an idea. Come and see my ma with me on Thursday. I haven't visited her in about three weeks and she's getting worried. I think she'll be of great help to you.'

They were by Casey's place at this time. She stopped and smiled. 'I would love that. I have always wanted to meet your mom so she could tell me all of your secrets.' She laughed and then it became quiet.

Danny smiled. Her laugh was like an injection of adrenaline in his body. He really wanted to take the strand of hair on her face and place it behind her ear. He wanted to stare into her eyes without fearing her reaction and just to lean in and kiss her. It would have to wait.

'Okay, great.' He kissed her on the cheek, slowly and steady. Mindy felt his touch on her cheek and shivers spread throughout her body. The wind had made her feel cooler and all she wanted was him to pull her closer, into his arms.

'Okay thanks Danny. I'll see you later.' As she reached the door, she looked back to see him walking away, his hands in his pockets. Danny Castellano was really pulling at her heart strings.

Tuesday and Wednesday were complicated. Casey had arranged their accommodation and schedule in Haiti for which Mindy started getting her stress barfs. Danny, knowing her situation, made sure to cover her patients if needed. Jeremy and Betsy seemed to be getting closer which annoyed Mindy because she loved being the centre of gossip at the office (although going to Haiti would ruin that). Morgan had a new girlfriend which meant he was losing his attention to Mindy and Tamra was always on the phone to her boyfriend. It was as if Mindy didn't matter anymore. The only person that cared about her presence was Danny.

At home, Casey was so preoccupied with the trip that his attention also diverted from her. She ate dinner while watching her romantic comedies as he was either checking emails or was on the phone. Sometimes, she would just wish she had a delivery so she could talk to someone. Someone other than Danny, because he was just messing with her head.

Thursday arrived and she was so excited to be heading out to Staten Island. It was the fact that for the first time, she would meet someone who knew Danny more than anyone else. Stevie was just a one off and even then, his mother just talked about Danny's obesity which was hilarious she had to admit. This time, she would be learning more things about Danny which could be surprising.

Danny and Mindy were on the ferry at five in the evening. It was an easy day today for the both of them, as Mindy had two consultations and Danny had three patients. They were able to leave early and just before leaving, they saw Betsy laughing at Jeremy's British jokes which in actual fact were not funny. On the ferry, they were eating sandwiches and were just enjoying the breeze of the sea.

'So you're really close to your mom then?' Mindy said while stuffing herself with a tuna sandwich.

'Yeah. She's always there for me and the things she has done for me; I don't think I could ever repay her.'

'That is so sweet. My mom and dad have done so much for me as well and I feel like even though I'm a doctor I don't really do much back to them.'

'Don't say that. I'm sure being a doctor was the best thing that's ever happened to you. Not everyone can say that they've delivered more than 100 babies. Your parents will be proud of you and they always will be proud of you.'

Mindy smiled. 'Thanks Danny. Your 'ma' is proud of her Castellano baby as well. Her obese baby, bear in mind.' She laughed.

'Hey! I am in good shape now okay? That was at a time where I was depressed.'

'During the whole of your childhood?'

'Just be quiet Mindy and eat your sandwich.'


	5. The Past of Danny Castellano

They reached Danny's mother's house at around 6pm. Her house was small and white, with the front door covered in a stained glass window. The porch had two chairs and a table, which Mindy assumed Danny would sit on when talking to his mother. On the door, there was a religious verse; 'So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.' Mindy found this saying to be heart-warming. Even though she wasn't as religious as Danny, she believed that there was a God out there and that he was looking after her. With faith, hope and love.

Danny knocked on the door and only two seconds had passed until his mother had opened the door.

'Danny! My baby! I have missed you so much!' She pulled him in and gave him the biggest hug Mindy had ever seen. Danny hugged her back, enjoying her warmth and love that exploded out of her. He felt tears entering from his eyes.

'Oh Ma, obviously you would make such a scene.' He smiled as he touched his mother's arms. He let go and looked at Mindy. 'This is Mindy, my friend.'

Mindy smiled at the word 'friend' and looked at Danny's mother. She was petite, with brown hair up to her shoulders. She had Danny's eyes but they were smaller and her smile was bigger than Danny's.

'Hello dear. I've heard a lot about you, from Danny's occasional rants to him saying you're always there for him when he needs someone other than me. And for that, I am so grateful.' She came over to Mindy and hugged her. Mindy hugged her back and kissed both of her cheeks.

'Thank you Mrs Castellano. Danny is very important to me and I wouldn't ever want to lose him.' She looked at Danny as he turned to look at her, their look of unspoken affection.

'Oh please call me Maria. No one calls me that anymore.' She winked and led the way into their living room.

They had spent the next two hours talking about how life was for all three of them. Danny had talked about Christina entering his life again and how he had ended it with her. Mindy talked about Casey and moving to Haiti and Maria Castellano spent the majority of her time just smiling and laughing to whatever either of them had to say. Danny then went to take a shower and Mindy was left with Maria. She found it nice, as if she had another mom.

'Thank God Danny takes at least twenty minutes to have a good shower. I really need to talk to you Mindy dear.' Maria took Mindy's hand and placed it in hers. She had a look of worry and sadness.

'Mindy, I am going to tell you about Danny's life. About the things that maybe he has told you, or maybe he hasn't. Knowing him, I don't think he has told you anything. He may seem like he opens up, but he really doesn't. The reason I am telling you is because I trust you and he has spoken so highly of you, so I know you are the right person. I have been looking for someone like you for a long time and I am so happy that I have found you.'

Mindy became worried. She was unsure of where this was going.

'Okay Maria. Please go ahead.' She made herself comfortable on the couch.

'Okay. Danny is my first child, as you know. He was a big baby and I remember when I first saw him, his eyes were so intense I could stare at him for hours. And that is what I did. I was twenty-three when I had him. His father-' Maria began to have tears in her eyes. Mindy was feeling sympathetic and wiped her tears with her hands.

'It's okay, take your time. I highly doubt Danny will come out anytime soon.' She patted Maria on the shoulder and held her hand.

'Thank you, sweetie. His father was around and he loved Danny. He was always doing the fatherly things a father should do. When Danny was growing up, we both realised how special he would be. He was always loud and cheeky, the class clown but the intelligent one. Ritchie was born soon and they had the best bond anyone had ever seen. People in the neighbourhood were always jealous of Danny and Ritchie, always wanting to be them. Danny looked out for Ritchie like no other brother did. His father and I were struggling to live, as I was raising them while he was out of a job for about two years. Things were tough and Danny was realising the strain even though Ritchie wasn't. And then, their father left when Danny was thirteen. I don't know how it had happened. It was all such a shock for me.' Tears were streaming down her face. Mindy felt tears coming to her eyes. Imagining Danny, Ritchie and Maria all struggling to get by with little money as possible had pained her deeply. She realised how lucky she was, how her parents were in stable jobs so they could raise her and Rishi well enough to be stable people. She mentally thanked God and her parents for being the best in the world.

'Danny felt like he had to look after me and his brother. It took a while for him to adjust but he was doing okay. He had a full time job on the weekends, working in delis and doing paper routes. He had no time for his studies but I made sure that whatever I had earned went towards him and Ritchie. By the time Danny was twenty-two, he had earned enough to go to medical school. Ritchie was in high school and was also trying his best but he was never as academic as Danny. Danny knew that and tried to get a secure job so he could help us. I told him to stop working so he could study but he wouldn't listen... Mindy, Danny is such a blessing. I don't know what I would do without him.' She took a breath. 'He never told me why he wanted to become a doctor but I didn't care as long as he was happy. He was happy and then he met Christina.' Maria's face turned sour. She seemed even in more pain than before.

'Maria, I am so sorry you had to go through this. Danny sounds like a wonderful person… I mean, I already knew that but you know.' Mindy was struggling to find words. She had never known that Danny had gone through such hardship. The fact that he had never disclosed his past to anyone, his painful past made her feel guilty for anything she had said to him.

'It's not your fault Mindy. Things happen, it is what God wants. Danny had met Christina during medical school and they were together for about three years before he proposed. The thing is I never liked Christina. She only focused on Danny himself, not on anything about his life or who he knew. When I met her for the first time, it was like she was forced into talking to me. I knew she was unsuitable from that day onwards. For some reason, Danny was infatuated with the idea of her. I don't know why but she was always able to get to him. Ritchie didn't like her either and we both mentioned our concerns but Danny felt angry and hurt. He said that he did so much for us but we didn't appreciate it. From then on, we both knew to keep quiet. If Christina was his happiness, then we should accept it. When they married, I was praying to God that she would look after him and treat him as the man he deserves to be treated as. But then, I remember the frequent phone calls where he would say things were going wrong. He said Christina was always out, doing photography shoots and travelling around the country and abroad not even telling him sometimes. Then that one time, I had heard my baby crying on the phone to me, telling me she had cheated on him…'

Maria was full of anger. She looked like she was about to hit something. Mindy looked at her with sadness and knowing. As if on impulse, she went to the kitchen and gave her a glass of water and brought a box of tissues for Maria and herself.

'He had found her in their apartment with someone whom she knew from work. He had doubts about this man from the beginning, because he was always flirting with Christina. Danny trusted her with all his heart and he thought she would never hurt him in such a bad way. I remember him banging on my door late at night and I opened it and saw a small man, crying, looking like he was about to collapse. I felt everything I lived for was in vain. He couldn't sleep for weeks and he was about to leave work. Thankfully Dr. Shulman was a lovely man that looked out for Danny and said he could take two months off of work. But Danny knew better. Instead of putting his life on hold for some unworthy woman, he put all his effort back into the job he loved. I was so proud of him, seeing him focused on something that wouldn't fail him.' She paused. 'Mindy, the reason why Danny keeps to himself and is constantly grumpy is because he feels like life has failed him. His dad was the only thing he looked up to when he was younger and he had left. He found a woman who he thought would never hurt him, but she did the worst thing possible. When he said just now he was back with her, my heart was sinking, literally. But of course, he knows better and he ended it with her before things would get worse. Please Mindy, I know you are the angel that he needs. He needs someone strong like you and I know you won't disappoint him. Look out for him, because when I die someday, there might be no one. And I don't know what to do with myself if that happens.' Maria sniffed and wiped her tears. She stroked Mindy's hair and Mindy grabbed her hand and kissed it.

'Maria, thank you for telling me this. I am so grateful and privileged that you think I am worthy enough to know all of this. The things that Danny has had to go through are just unbelievable.' She breathed slowly before saying her next sentence. 'I promise that I will look after him. I give you my word.'

'Thank you Mindy. Do me a favour though? Call me ma from now on.' She smiled and kissed Mindy's forehead.

'Okay Ma. I think it suits you.' They laughed and wiped their tears.

'Please stay for the night. You need to have dinner anyway and I don't want the both of you going home in this darkness. You can borrow my clothes. Please?'

'Of course, Ma. I would love to.'

'Just one more thing, Mindy. Are you sure you want to go to Haiti? I know this isn't my place but from what you said, it seems like it isn't for you. I know you are a good person, I can tell already, but a volunteering trip to another country doesn't mean you will be a better person than you already are. Casey seems like a great guy but don't rush into it if you aren't ready. Danny rushed with Christina and that led to him getting hurt. I don't want that happening to you.'

Mindy was quiet. She was thinking about her words and how there was a ring of truth to it. The Castellanos sure had a way of getting to people.

The three of them had a nice Italian dinner of traditional lasagne. Danny had made some unfunny jokes and Mindy had really enjoyed herself. She had texted Casey saying she was staying at Danny's mother's house and he said okay, as if it didn't matter. Forgetting him, she enjoyed her best friend and his mother's company. They were all she needed.

At night time, Danny and Mindy were in their separate beds, both awake.

'Min, are you awake?'

'Yep. I can't sleep.'

'Neither can I. I wonder what Ma put into the lasagne.' He laughed.

His laugh gave her a thrill. It was so deep and hoarse, but it sounded nice as it bounced off of the walls.

'Probably,' she laughed. 'You know, I love your mom. I feel like she's my second mom.'

'Really? I'm glad to hear that. She's the best.' He smiled to himself. Mindy loved his mother which was a good sign.

'Yeah she is. Oh and Danny? Why did you want to become a doctor?'

Danny froze. How did this come into her head? 'Err… why?'

'Just because. I'm interested.'

'Well, I had a tough life. I wanted to make my ma proud and make Ritchie proud. And I've always wanted to help people. I considered being a lawyer at first but I realised I wouldn't be able to guarantee happiness to anyone. But being a doctor, I can always be sure someone is happy. Being an OB/GYN meant that every woman that I helped give birth was happy that their baby was safe and sound. Every baby born into this world needs to have that safe environment and I'm glad I can help them with that.' His thoughts drifted to his 'lack of a safe environment'.

Mindy thought about how loving Danny was. He was a grumpy old man most of the time, but he was like Santa Claus deep inside. Just wanting to keep people happy by hiding who he was. Casey on the other hand did good things to please God. What a huge difference.

'You know what Danny? I'm so glad you became a doctor. Otherwise I would never have met you.'


	6. Torn

The next morning, Danny and Mindy wondered the streets of Staten Island. They found a convenience store and went to do some shopping for groceries. Mindy was thinking about Casey and how she didn't miss him as much as she thought she would. Had it been a few months ago, she would have missed his touch and their conversations. It had changed so much for her. Danny was able to fill that empty space with their arguments about the smallest things and his presence had just made her happy. She thought about Danny and how he felt about her. The things he had said about the doctors' lounge incident suggested he had liked her, and the whole trip to Staten Island made it easier to believe. But why would Danny like her? It didn't seem to make any sense as she constantly troubled him with all of her problems. She knew they were friends but how did he see her as more than friends? Her mind went all over the place.

'Mindy? Mindy? Can you hear what I'm saying?'

Mindy blinked three times and saw Danny holding two bottles of anti-dandruff shampoo.

'I thought we should get some since we both struggle with dandruff.' He grinned. He loved spending time with Mindy. Even if it was doing nothing, they had great fun together. It was times like these that made him grateful for life.

'Hey!' She punched his arm. 'I don't have dandruff.'

'Yeah, of course.' He laughed.

Mindy's phone started ringing; her ringtone being California Gurls by Katy Perry.

'Really Mindy? You live in New York.'

'Whatever Danny. This song makes me feel good okay?' She saw Casey's name flashing. 'It's Casey.' She looked to see Danny's reaction which was simply just disappointment.

Mindy walked away from Danny to the front of the store.

'Hey honey. You okay?'

'Mindy, where are you? I've missed you so much babe.'

'Really? It didn't seem like it when I texted you last night.'

'Oh…yeah. Well I was busy with some things. So are you coming home soon?'

'Yeah I will be, me and Danny are just shopping for his mom. And we haven't got work today so I guess I'll be home soon.'

'Okay. You and Danny are really close aren't you?'

Mindy was scared, as if she had been caught doing something wrong even though she hadn't.

'Yeah we are. He's a great friend… you're okay with that right?'

'Yeah, I am. I mean he was in your life before I was, so I can't stop you from being friends with him. He is a great guy after all.' There was silence on the other end. 'Just come home soon, we need to start sorting things out for Haiti.'

'Yeah, sure. I'll see you soon. Bye love you.'

'Love you too babe.'

Mindy ended the call and stared into space. This feeling of anxiety and confusion was creeping up again. She realised she was torn between Casey and Danny. Casey was her boyfriend of three months, who was always there to make her a better person. He was a do-gooder who loved everyone and everything. Then there was Danny who was her friend for so long. He hated most things that she liked but even then she didn't care. He never wanted to change her, he just accepted her the way she was whereas Casey made her consider changing religion, doing good things other than being a doctor and cutting her hair. Even though there were more cons to Casey than pros, she couldn't just leave him for a guy who she had a weird relationship with. How could she be so sure Danny liked her? There were no guarantees with Danny, but with Casey there was… wasn't there?

She was about to go back in when Danny came out with three bags. She took one from him and they walked side by side back to his mother's house.

'What did Casey say?'

Mindy froze. She stopped still and dropped her bag.

'Mindy? Are you okay?'

'Yeah…I'm fine…' She started feeling faint.

'Mindy? Mindy!'

Mindy realised she was conscious when she heard a whisper next to her. She was still feeling ill and chose to just lie wherever she was. Maybe trying to sleep would help; even though she had no idea what was going on and why she felt like this. The whisper continued and eventually she realised it was Danny's voice that was getting louder and quieter.

'I hope she is okay. I don't know what I'd do without her, why did I ruin things? She would have been safe with Casey. God, I am such an idiot.'

Mindy opened her eyes slightly from the corners of her eyes. She saw Danny pacing by her bed and then realised she was hooked onto IV and was on a hospital bed.

'Please wake up Mindy. Please.'

Mindy felt like 'waking up' was the right thing to do, but she couldn't face Danny. He would apologise and act like the crazy sorry best friend that he was which she couldn't handle at this point in time. Danny was making her feel weird things that she hadn't felt for anyone and to see him grovelling would just make her feel guilty. He did nothing wrong. Maybe it would be best to just lie there.

Eventually, she had woken up from her sleep which she didn't mean to. Danny was missing and she saw a doctor writing on a clipboard.

'Excuse me?' Mindy struggled to get the words out.

'Oh hello…' the doctor looked at the clipboard. 'Dr. Mindy Lahiri. How are you feeling?'

'I…I am okay I think. What happened? Where is Danny?'

'You fainted a few hours ago. By looking at your records, it was likely due to a panic attack. You've gone through this before, right?'

Mindy nodded.

'You have nothing to worry about, you're fine. Just take these antidepressants for a while and you'll be okay. Dr. Castellano said he had to go but he said someone called Casey will come and see you?'

'Okay, thank you.'

'Oh and there is a card here for you.' The doctor passed it to her and smiled as she walked out.

Mindy saw a white envelope with her name written on the front, underlined and in capital letters. It was from Danny, she could tell. His writing was always messy which suited the whole doctor's handwriting stereotype, while hers was always neat and orderly.

She opened the envelope to find a card saying 'For you'. The design was pretty simple; it had a picturesque waterfall with shades of blue and purple.

_Dear Mindy,_

_I am sorry for everything I have put you through. This whole week has been crazy and I know you are under so much stress because of me. I know you must be worried about how to act around me and all I want to say is, just be yourself. Don't ever change around me just because I said and did a few things that should just be forgotten about. You and Casey are going to be happy together, trust me. There is no confusion. He is a great guy who will look out for you… he has a good heart too. Just don't throw this away because of me. I promise I will always be there for you so you don't need to worry about anything. Go to Haiti and be happy._

_Lots of love from your friend,_

_Danny _


	7. A Life Sans Danny Castellano

Opening her eyes, she saw that she was in her own bed with someone's arm around her waist. She turned her head to face this person and saw Casey sleeping soundly, not snoring as he normally would do. Mindy looked at her clock and saw that it was 7:38am. Oh, no. She would be late for work. Danny would not be happy.

She slowly put Casey's arm away and began to get ready. She put on a simple black dress and decided that little makeup seemed fine for today. Her hair was a mess and it took forever to get it sorted out. For some reason, she was excited for work today. Just hanging out with Danny, laughing with Morgan and having girl-talk with Betsy was what made her enjoy every day at work. Oh, and gossiping with her patients was fun too.

She expected to see Danny at the station but he was missing. Of course, she was late after all. Her subway ride was boring; there was no one to annoy about the latest doings of the Kardashians or how she wanted to get this new trench coat from Chanel. It was weird, him not being there.

When she arrived at work, she straight away went to knock on Danny's door and saw how his name was missing. Instead, it had said 'Dr. Thomas Hughes'. She opened the door and saw a man who looked like he was in his late twenties. He looked up and smiled at her. He was rather handsome and was exactly Mindy's type; blond hair with blue eyes. He looked a tad like Josh but younger looking. But that wasn't important right now. Where was Danny?

'Hey Mindy. Good morning!'

'Err… hey. Who are you?'

Thomas smiled showing perfect teeth. 'Okay, today is a bad day for jokes.'

'What are you talking about? Where's Danny?'

Thomas stopped smiling. He looked worried and then stood up. 'Mindy, you need to stop this. I know you're finding this hard but you need to forget everything. Everyone is going through a hard time, not just you… if you need someone to talk to, I am here.' He smiled again.

'What the hell? This is making no sense at all. Why are you in Danny's office?'

'Okay I seriously don't know how to handle you. Ever since I became a partner at this practice, you have criticised me and put me down. I know you and Danny were close and I could never replace him but this is just getting ridiculous now.' Thomas sat down again and began to look at some paperwork.

'I'm really confused right now… I don't get what's going on. Do I even know you?' Mindy was so confused as to what was going on. Danny was missing, someone had replaced him and she couldn't find any explanations.

'Mindy, please leave my office before I get angry.'

None of this was making sense. It seemed as if she was in some parallel universe, where nothing existed. She had to find someone who could explain everything. She went to find Jeremy and saw him in the break room, eating an apple. He was staring into space while he was eating. No one else was around, Betsy wasn't at the reception desk and Morgan didn't rush out to greet her as he always would do. What was going on?

'Jeremy?' Mindy went closer and sat opposite him. Jeremy looked up and was shocked to see her, like she was a serial killer about to carry out her next murder.

'Mindy? What are you doing here?'

'What do you mean what am I doing here? I've been working here for two years. Where's Danny and who is this Thomas?'

Jeremy dropped his apple and closed his mouth. He took Mindy's hand and stroked it.

'Mindy, go back home. You have another two weeks off, just go. Thomas and I will handle your patients until you're fit to come back.'

'Jeremy, you're making no sense. In fact, both of you are making no sense. I come to work to find a missing Danny and someone who has replaced him. You're hiding something from me aren't you?'

'I'm not hiding anything Mindy… I think the stress is taking its toll on you. Just go back home to Casey, he will look after you. We both miss Danny, in fact all of us do. It is hard knowing he won't come back but we can't do anything but move on.'

Mindy was shocked. What had happened to Danny? Why wasn't he coming back? So many questions bombarded her brain but it took a while for her to register what Jeremy had said.

'Wait… I don't know what you're talking about. Can you please elaborate? Is Danny okay?'

'I think you might need therapy, Mindy. You can't have forgotten what happened.'

'Jeremy, tell me now what the hell is going on! I am not leaving until you tell me what's happened to Danny!' She stood up in exasperation.

'Okay, okay. If you think that hearing everything again will ease your pain then I will tell you. I still think you need to get checked out.'

'Jeremy, I swear to God-'

'Sorry, sorry.' Jeremy motioned for Mindy to sit down. 'Three months ago, Danny and Christina were out for dinner. I think they were celebrating them getting back together again or something like that. He took her to Brooklyn for dinner and those romantic date type things… you know what I mean. It was quite late, around 11 in the night I think? For some reason, Danny and Christina were extremely drunk. They were messing about on Brooklyn Bridge when some guy tried to mug Danny. Danny was having none of it but then-' Jeremy was becoming choked up. 'He stabbed Danny in the chest three times. By the time they reached the hospital, they said it was too late.'

Mindy looked at Jeremy and saw a face with no expression. It was like what she had heard was lies, a cruel joke played by everyone just to see Mindy crumble. She imagined Danny jumping out, laughing with Morgan and Betsy. The Thomas guy would ask for his money and walk out, right? But for some reason, it didn't seem like a joke. The sincerity in his voice was the type of voice Jeremy used when he told his patients there was no baby, or when he told the family there were complications. It was his death-voice.

'No. No. No. Danny is here somewhere. Stop hiding Danny! Come out now! This is the stupidest joke ever and I'll never forgive you!' Mindy walked out and looked all over the office, under the desks and in the janitor's closet. 'Betsy! Morgan! Tamra! Where are you guys? This isn't funny.' She was about to storm out when she saw a note on the desk.

_Dear Dr. Reed and Dr. Hughes,_

_I'm going with Morgan to see Dr. C's grave. It's just one of those days. We'll be back in two hours._

_Betsy_

This was just unbelievable. Mindy rushed out and decided to take a trip to Danny's apartment.

She reached his door and was full of anger. Danny was alive. He was doing fine. He was just taking a day off and the others decided to make fun of Mindy for all the times she had been a bitch to them. But this type of joke was just going too far. She banged on the door.

'Danny! Danny!'

A woman of about thirty opened the door with frustration. She was wearing a bathrobe and looked irritated.

'Who are you?'

'Is Danny in there? Can you tell him to come out?'

'Okay lady. I don't know who this Danny guy is but I live here. I think you've got the wrong apartment.' She was about to close the door when Mindy put her arm through.

'Wait! I'm sorry but Danny Castellano lives here.'

'No, he doesn't. If it helps, I moved here a month ago. The previous tenant was murdered or something and I don't know his name, but it was really sad hearing about it and even scarier knowing I was moving into his house. Look, I can't help you right now; I've got to get ready for work. Please go.'

She closed the door, leaving a distraught Mindy outside. This couldn't be happening. Danny couldn't be gone. He just couldn't.

Mindy felt so lost. She wanted to go somewhere, to clear her mind. To think things through. She couldn't go back home, where Casey would be waiting for her. She needed to be alone. So she went to the place that brought her the most comfort.

The doctors' lounge was empty, thank God. She dimmed the lights and closed the door, leaving the room completely dark. There were noises of doctors and patients walking and talking. To Mindy, she heard nothing. Leaning against the door, she crawled onto the floor and hugged her knees. This feeling was killing her. Danny Castellano was everything to her. He was always looking out for her, even when they were just work acquaintances. He never wanted to see her hurt and go through heartbreak again and again, even though she had put herself through it all. He followed her wherever she went, whenever she asked him to. Every guy she knew told her to change herself, but Danny didn't. He had accepted her for who she was, with all her flaws. Now that he was gone, who would she have? She had lost the one thing that meant more to her than anything.

She found herself covered in tears, lying on the ground. For all she knew, if she died right then it wouldn't matter.

She stood up after what seemed like forever and decided to go to Danny's grave. She needed to speak to him. After hours of asking and looking for all the cemeteries in New York, she found out where Danny was. His grave was beautiful. It was in marble and had a picture of him smiling on his wedding day with Christina, as if it was freshly placed there. He had looked so happy. The words 'In Ever Loving Memory of Danny Castellano, Born August 11, 1974, Died July 5th 2013. Loving Doctor.'

'Danny.' Even uttering his name brought on more tears. Her throat was hurting and her eyes were swollen. More than that, her chest was hurting.

'Danny. I miss you. Today, when I woke up, I pictured a great day. I thought of me and you taking the subway, me coming into your office to tell you irrelevant news which you didn't care about. Today would be like any day.' She touched his grave and took the picture of Danny and Christina. She kissed his face, a tear falling on his suit. Placing the picture back, she continued. 'You know, I never thought Christina was good for you. She had hurt you so many times and even though I didn't say it, it really hurt. It hurt me to see you go through what you went through and I am sorry that I ever brought her up. It was just to make me sound better than I am, because you and I know that I am a messed up person. You are such an amazing person, Danny. I miss you so God damn much. It doesn't feel real, it feels like a dream. I'm going to feel shit every day. Nothing can make me feel better unless you come back. Danny, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I love you. Thank you for making me enjoy my life. Your pessimism is what kept me going.' She laughed to herself. 'I'm only joking. I do love you though. So much. I can't think about life without you.' She started to cry. 'Casey is going to kill me if he heard this. I wish I kissed you in the doctors' lounge. I wish I told you I love you. Then you would never go back to Christina. Maybe you would still be here.' She cried even more, the guilt washing over her body. Danny would never have gone back with Christina if it hadn't been for Mindy. He wouldn't have gone to Brooklyn Bridge at 11 in the night. He wouldn't have been stabbed and he would be alive.

Casey had proposed to Mindy five months later and she had accepted. Two years later, she had given birth to their first child, Harry and another year later, Sally was born (a pun of Harry and Sally). It was Casey's idea to name their children after Mindy's favourite film. Mindy loved her children to the moon and back, but every day she thought about Danny. He was always on her mind and she thought about the life she could have had with him. Their Harry would be a younger Danny, intelligent and handsome. Sally would be a younger Mindy, hot and trendy. They would work until they had broken backs and then retire to their apartment in the centre of New York where they would watch the sunrise and sunset while their children were becoming parents themselves. It hurt her, knowing that there was a life that she could have had but she threw it all away.

It was pitch black. She heard her phone beep and checked the time on her bedside clock. 2:03am. Who was it at this time?

**Hey Mindy. I'm sorry I left you at the hospital, I didn't want to trouble you. I hope you got my card. Call me tomorrow if you can. I hope you're doing okay. **

**Danny x**

A rush of euphoria hit Mindy.


	8. A Walk Down Memory Lane

It was the worst feeling Mindy had ever experienced. Worse than when her grandmother died when she was thirteen, worse than when she was rejected from medical school the first time, worse than when she found out Tom was cheating on her with the Serbian bagel girl, worse than her Christmas party last year. This was something she never wanted to feel again.

When she realised it was a nightmare, relief washed over her body. She felt tears coming out of her eyes and she was sniffing constantly. Trying not to wake Casey up, she left the bed and went to her bathroom. Sitting on the toilet seat, she tried to clear her head. This dream had really unsettled her. It was so vivid; unlike her other dreams where she would slip in and out of consciousness. It was like she was in a movie, except it was not like her romantic comedies. It was a tragedy that she hoped she would never experience.

The weird thing was that she discovered something. Danny was taking over her life. He was popping up everywhere, in reality and in her subconscious. It was getting to the point where she found him to be more important than Casey, her boyfriend. Naïve Casey, who knew nothing about this. She hadn't told him about the doctors' lounge, what happened in Staten Island, or anything. For all he knew, he was about to go to Haiti to do a volunteering trip that he had been waiting for so long with a long-term girlfriend who he loved. He didn't know that he was close to losing her.

Mindy's thoughts travelled back to her first memory of Danny. After completing her medical degree, she was elated. She achieved the one thing she had set out to achieve. She became a doctor simply for her love of science but being able to be compassionate with other human beings. It was the best job a person could have in her opinion. She remembered whenever someone asked her what she wanted to be and she mentioned being a doctor, they would assume it was because of her parents forcing her to become a doctor. Asian culture, they assumed. They were so wrong, though. Her parents were in fact stereotypical Asian parents but one thing they weren't, was pushy parents. They wanted their children to succeed in life, hence paid for their tuition and went over the mile for them.

_We want you to be good people with a life you don't need to struggle for. Do whatever you want as long as you know it is worth doing. Something that is stable and is not unpredictable. That is the only thing we ask from you._

So when she started residency into becoming an OB/GYN, she was so excited. She loved the idea of being able to help women with the best thing that ever happened to them. It even gave her an insight into how life would be like as a pregnant woman and it did not look easy. The best thing though, was knowing she would be able to see a baby being born and acknowledge how each one resembled their parents. It was a fun, loving job that she could not wait to do.

Residency started with a one hour introductory lecture. There were about 250 medical graduates, all eager to know what would wait ahead of them.

'When do we start revising for our exams, Sir?'

Oh great, what a nerd, Mindy thought. Why would that come into your head just after completing exams a few months ago?

She turned to face the guy who had said this stupid comment and saw it was an older man, in fact. Of course, everyone here was in fact graduates but this guy was old. He looked around 34 years old while she was only 26 years when starting. He sounded like he was from the Godmother, Italian-American. She had always loved that accent. He was sitting right at the front and everyone had given him death-stare looks. Not like he had cared anyway. From then on, she thought he was one of those annoying dudes that always asked for tests and work. Ergh.

Then to Mindy's horror, she was placed with him when training. When doing hospital rounds, he was so enthusiastic it was annoying. He always talked about being the cleverest one out of everybody and she found him to be extremely irritating. Luckily, there were people like Jeremy and Jessica who weren't borderline arrogant. Jessica became her best gal pal since Gwen had gotten married. They revised together, did rounds together and gossiped about the patients they had observed. It was a great first year.

Unfortunately, Jessica transferred to another hospital and Mindy was stuck with Jeremy and the egotistical Danny. Danny loved being on top and it infuriated her. At one time, she decided enough was enough and wanted to beat him. Imagine the look on his face when he realised she had scored the top mark and he was not the favourite anymore. The joy she would get from that.

So she called Danny aside one day, after a long day of training. It was Monday and their next test was on Thursday.

'Hey Danny.'

He turned to face her and gave a look of exasperation.

'Yes, Mindy?'

'I'm going to beat you on this test on Thursday.'

Danny laughed that laugh which gave her a thrill she did not want to admit. 'Yeah, of course Mindy. You know no one can beat me.'

'You may be top-scoring Danny Castellano, but I can assure you I will beat you. I'm fed up of your ego and I'm willing to break it.' She smirked under her glasses. She felt them fogging up.

'Bring it on, Lahiri. Let's make a bet.'

'I will bring it on, thank you very much. Prepare to lose Castellamo.'

Danny laughed again. 'Castellamo? Wow, did that take days to think of?'

'Shut up. Whoever gets the lowest mark has to do what the other person wants on Friday night.'

'And what exactly do you have in mind?'

'I'll tell you on Friday when we get our test marks and I get the highest.' She smiled her flirtatious competitive smile.

'Dream on. Oh and I can't do Friday night. I always spend it with my wife.'

_Damn it, Danny. Even you are married. Come to think of it, who would marry you? Why can't I be married? Damn you Mindy Lahiri._

'Whatever. If you're such a wimp then don't bother. Spend Friday night with your wife who I can't believe is even with you.'

'You know what Mindy? It's on. If I lose, which is never, I will do whatever you want on Friday. But if I win, then you have to do whatever I want.'

'Fine. What about your precious wife?'

'She'll be fine with it. You better start revising; otherwise you'll be having the worst night of your life on Friday.' He winked and walked away.

_Stupid Danny with his wife and his gorgeous face. Not that his face even came into the equation but whatever._

Mindy had worked extremely hard on the test, not even watching her favourite TV show that came on Tuesday nights. She woke up at 4:00am to revise for three hours and then after a day of training she would come back and revise from 7:00pm to 11:00pm. It was a minor test but the thrill of knowing she could beat Danny was what kept her going. She wished she could be like Jeremy, where he would just do the test anyway and be second-best. Some people had all the luck.

On Thursday, she came into the lecture theatre and was the first person to arrive. She sat in her seat, the seat where ML was carved during a lecture on gestational diabetes (she was bored out of her mind). Danny was second to come in and sat two spaces away from her.

'You ready for the test?' He smirked.

'You bet.' Mindy didn't look at him; in case he did something that could potentially make her nervous.

'Okay. Good luck.'

She turned to face him and saw a sincere face. He gave out his hand to shake and she held it, shaking it. It felt weird, his touch.

'Okay, eww. Why are you so sweaty?'

Danny blushed. 'I am? I didn't know.'

'Yeah. It's disgusting.'

'Hey, no need to get rude.' He turned away.

'Sorry. Good luck to you too.' She felt awkward. She was never really alone with Danny until now. It felt scary.

'Thanks.'

Luckily for Mindy, she knew all the answers apart from two. They were tricky and pushed her off balance. She checked to see the person next to her but they were the types of people who covered up their test papers. Her eyes travelled towards Danny and she saw he was struggling too. _Yes, I'm not the only one._

After the test, she quickly ran out before Danny would ask her how she found it. She spent Thursday night watching Sleepless in Seattle and Titanic. She deserved it okay?

On Friday, the dread washed over her. What if she had lost the bet? Would Danny take her as a sex slave? Haha, he wished. But it was nerve-racking.

'Okay guys. Your test marks are in. I stayed up all night to mark them so be thankful. Generally, the class did well. Danny Castellano, obviously you did well as you always do. 92%.' He handed Danny his paper. Danny gave Mindy a smug look and she retaliated with a disgusted face.

'But, we have someone who has finally cracked the Castellano code. Mindy Lahiri, you got 94%. Well done! Maybe you should try this every time we have a test?' He handed her the paper. 'Ooh, Danny. Just one mark away and you would have beaten her. It's okay, there's always next time, eh? Well I'm rooting for Mindy this time.' He laughed jokingly and handed everyone else their papers.

Mindy had the biggest grin and showed this to Danny. His face was priceless. He grunted and looked down at his paper.

_Yes, Mindy Lahiri. Finally you're not a loser._

After the class, Danny tried to rush out but Mindy grabbed his arm. He looked at her with vulnerable eyes.

'What do you want Lahiri?'

'I won the bet! So now you need to do whatever I want tonight.'

'Nope. I'm not doing it.'

'Hey, don't be out of order. This is a bet remember? I won and you can't do anything about it.'

'I don't want to.'

Mindy let go of his arm. 'Look, Danny. I'm sorry I beat you, but it was only one mark. I don't get what the big deal is. I know being on top makes you feel good, I had that when I was in college. But you're still going to be clever and you always will be.'

Danny relaxed and smiled. 'Thanks Mindy.'

'It's okay. Can I be happy I won this bet now?'

'Yes, you can.'

'YEAH! I BEAT DANNY CASTELLAMO!' She started dancing while Danny looked around hoping no one would associate him with her.

'Okay, I think everyone gets it.'

'Okay, I'm done. Tonight my friend, we are going to have a movie marathon!'

'What? No, this is my worst nightmare.'

'I won the bet.'

Danny whined and then grinned. 'Okay, you deserved it. But please, no romantic comedy crap. We can watch movies like Jaws and Die Hard… those are great movies.'

'Err, no Danny. When I say MOVIE marathon, I am referring to ROMANTIC COMEDIES. I watch nothing else.' She smiled and grabbed his arm as they walked out of the class. It was going to be a great night.

Mindy remembered how Danny moaned and complained throughout 'When Harry Met Sally', 'You've Got Mail' and '10 Things I Hate About You'. It was the best night, because she loved all three movies and he hated all three. They were sitting on her bed, backs to the wall watching them on a small TV in front.

'Isn't Heath Ledger gorgeous? I mean, I could stare at his eyes forever.'

'You are talking to a guy, Mindy. I would not agree with you in any instant.'

'Yeah but you could be gay.'

'I am NOT gay.'

'Just saying, you could be.'

'Okay what is with women and romance? What is the big deal?'

'You can talk, you're married. At 32 years of age, may I add?'

'Yes, but that doesn't mean anything. My wife isn't into romance like you and all other women I've met.'

'So? Your wife may be weird but she is from another generation. The young generation that is me long for romance. I know I will have my romantic moment on the Empire State Building.'

'Okay, enough is enough. This is getting ridiculous.'

'Oh, and Danny? I just want to thank you for coming tonight. I know you would have rather stayed with your wife.'

Danny sat up and stared into her eyes. His pupils had dilated, which was scaring her. He had looked so good. 'It's okay. We made a bet and I have to stick to it. Plus it's not that bad, being here.'

'Still. Thank you.'

It was a great memory of Danny. After that night, they had tolerated each other. They didn't hate each other anymore but they didn't like each other in terms of friendship, just people you would smile at when passing. They constantly fought for top place, Danny sometimes winning and Mindy winning other times. They both came to the conclusion that they were equally clever. She started to respect Danny for the great person that he was, an intelligent hardworking doctor…she couldn't help but feel slightly jealous.

She remembered when she found out Danny had split up from his wife. He had stopped coming to lectures and tutoring sessions. It was worrying and she hoped he was okay. When gossip spread, she felt so bad for him. Not that she would ever admit it to him, of course. At this time, she was in and out of relationships and was just starting to understand love. But to go through a divorce was something no one should have to go through. She was upset knowing Brad and Jennifer broke up; they were her favourite celebrity couple. Seeing someone she knew in real life made it surreal.

Thinking about it now, the jokes she had made about Christina were really harsh. She felt stupid and horrible for saying such mean things. She hoped Danny forgave her for that.

When Casey came to see Mindy at the hospital, she felt disappointed. She knew Danny had gone and was not coming back but to see him would be refreshing. Casey was so lovely though, worrying about her and apologising for treating her badly. Why did she feel so torn between the two? Though if she was honest, it was getting close to 60% Danny and 40% Casey.

Mindy checked the time and saw that it was 2:30am. She had been thinking about Danny for too long again. She looked at the text and smiled. Danny was so cute, for an old guy.

**Danny, it's okay. I'm fine and thank you for being so worried. And thanks for the card, it was nice.  
**

**Mindy x**

Mindy smiled again and went back to bed to a snoring Casey who had taken up most of the bed. He was after all, all elbows and penis.


	9. Mindy Lahiri Gets Angry

The next day, it was Saturday. She had 12 days until she left for Haiti. The build-up of anxiety continued. Not just with confusion with her feelings for Danny but simply due to the fact that she was leaving home, to a country she didn't even know much about. Yes, Casey would be there but it was still scary. She really wanted comforting from someone other than Casey and Danny.

'Hey Gwen! I haven't talked to you in such a long time!' Mindy needed a voice of reason.

'Hey, Mindy! I heard about you going to Haiti? I'm so sorry I couldn't come to your going away party, I was in LA with Carl and Riley.'

'It's okay, Gwen. You're married now; you can't always come to my things.'

'I know, but I might not see you again! Anyway, you all ready and packed? I can't believe you're doing this, I mean, it's not a Mindy thing to do.'

'I know, I know. Love changes things, right?'

'Yeah it does, but if I'm honest I don't think you should do it Mindy.'

Mindy felt a stress barf coming on. 'Okay, why's that?'

'Well… I feel like you don't know Casey well enough to do this.'

'What do you mean? Casey is a great guy; he is loving and giving, in terms of morals of course. But with sex as well.' She laughed.

'Okay, okay. I've been thinking about this for a while but I never said anything because I don't want to hurt you. But I am saying this for your own good… I don't think Casey is the right guy for you.'

'Wait, what? You say this now?'

'I'm sorry, really I am. I just think there's someone else who is out there for you. Someone that maybe you have a good bond with.'

'Where is this heading?' Mindy had a feeling Gwen would say a certain name.

'I think you know who I'm talking about.'

'No… I don't know.' Mindy tried to hide it but her voice was cracking.

'It's Danny!'

'Really, Gwen? Josh said this in Santa Fe and now you? Why does everyone think Danny and I have a thing?'

'Because it's so obvious that you do! I know you are in love with Casey, well you think you do but deep down you know Danny means a lot to you.'

'He is a great friend, of course. But there can't be more than that. I don't think we could ever work.' Mindy tried to convince Gwen but it seemed more like she was convincing herself.

'I've seen the way he looks at you. When I first met him that time you made a bunk bed for Riley, he was so engrossed with you it was so obvious. And I know you like the back of my hand, Mindy. You love being with him and he makes you feel good. Just admit that you like Danny.'

'I don't like Danny. I love Casey.'

'Are you sure? Because I sense doubt in your voice.'

'Gwen, I've got to go shopping for supplies. I love you and I'll try and see you before I go. Bye.'

'Bye Mindy, love you too. Be happy.' Mindy heard a sigh from the other end of the phone before hanging up. She took her antidepressants and headed out to go shopping.

Mindy was looking through some shampoo that she could take with her. There were so many brands to choose from. Just like that, all of them fell onto the floor. Great, as if this day wasn't getting any worse.

'Mindy?' It was a familiar voice. Mindy looked up to see Christina peering down at her. She always looked gorgeous, in her professional attire and her short hair really suited her unlike Mindy's where it went in every direction.

'Err… hi Christina. What a pleasant surprise.' It wasn't really.

'Buying stuff for Haiti?' She had a tight smile on her face.

'Yep. I'm leaving in 12 days. So how are you?'

'Well, I was wondering how Danny was. He hasn't talked to me since your party. We were about to move in together and everything and now he's ignoring me. Do you know why?'

Mindy hesitated. What could she say? _Yes, because you're a heart-breaking bitch, that's why?_

'No, I don't. I thought you and Danny were still together.'

'I don't think we are. He drives me crazy, seriously. He gets back together with me and then decides to supposedly break up with me without even informing me? He's got some nerve. No decency to even tell me. I don't even know why I went back to him; he's still the same Danny that he was when I married him.'

Mindy frowned. Was she serious? 'Okay…'

'I'm fed up of chasing after him. I think I'll go back to Syria and focus on my photography.'

'No disrespect, Christina, but you have broken Danny's heart in the worst way possible. Cheating on him is not acceptable in any form.'

Christina gave her a look of disbelief and scoffed. 'Excuse me?'

'It really hurts me knowing what you did. And then you say he's got nerve for ignoring you? At least he isn't cheating on you with some other woman! I know this isn't my place but Danny is my friend and I don't like hearing bad things about him, especially coming from you.'

'Says the woman who ruined her ex's wedding by giving some drunken speech? You should be embarrassed of yourself to even do that. I don't think I could live knowing I did that.'

'Well at least I'm not some cheating scumbag! Did you even apologise to him for what you did?'

Christina was silent. Her face was getting angrier by the second.

'No, I didn't think you did. I may be a train wreck but at least I am loyal to the people I am with.'

'I'm sorry but you are far from loyal. You're defending Danny like he's your husband or something when you have a boyfriend! One that you humiliated in front of everyone at your party? You don't know when to stop do you? You are not loyal; if you were we wouldn't even be having this conversation.'

'Shut up, Christina before I get seriously angry.'

'What are you going to do? Jump on top of me? You could actually kill me considering how obese you are.'

'What the FUCK?' Mindy started grabbing at her hair and shoulders.

'Get off me!' Christina started scratching at Mindy's face.

A brawl between them continued for another two minutes until a security guard came and separated them. Both were arrested for disruption and unfortunately for Mindy, Christina had forced Danny to bail her out. Danny, the lovely guy that he was bailed Mindy out as well.

'I don't even want to know what happened.'

'Yeah, you probably don't want to know.' They awkwardly stared ahead at the windscreen of a taxi cab.

'I do want to know, actually. I thought you'd jump and tell me.' He laughed.

Mindy turned to look at him and saw his smug grin.

'Oh and Christina and I are over. Just thought I'd tell you.'

'YOU TELL ME NOW? I wouldn't be in this mess if you told me!' Mindy went to itch one of her scars and then winced in pain.

'Hey, don't itch it. It gets worse.'

'Thanks for such ground-breaking advice Danny.' She turned to face the window.

'Okay, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't think it was important.'

'Of course it is important! We are both equally invested in each other's love lives and it's only fair that you tell me everything.'

Danny smiled when hearing this.

'I'm sorry. I promise to keep you up to date with future girlfriends and wives.'

'Good.'

'Now tell me about what happened with you and Christina? When I asked her she told me to go to hell and to never contact her again, that's how grateful she was that I bailed her out. I couldn't help but feel relieved if I'm honest.'

'So I'm guessing honesty is your protégé now?' She turned to look at Danny again and sighed. 'Christina and I got into a fight about you. She was calling you horrible things and I told her off. She had no right Danny, not after what she did to you.'

Danny looked back with those dilated pupils of his. She was dying to know what he was thinking.

'That was really nice of you Min. Thanks for defending my honour… although it's normally men who do that for women.'

'Whatever. I didn't even get to buy my supplies for Haiti!'

'So you're still going then?'

'Yeah… I think so.'

'Okay.'

It was an awkward drive for another thirty seconds until Mindy spoke again.

'Your mom told me a lot of things about you. She practically told me your life story.'

Danny looked tense. 'She did?'

'Yeah. Danny why didn't you tell me how bad your life was? All those things I said that were harsh and completely unforgivable, I can't believe I said them. You have had such a hard life and I just threw insults at you here and there. God, I can be such a jerk.'

'Min. I'm glad I didn't tell you otherwise you'd treat me like I have prostate cancer or something. I don't want sympathy. Everyone goes through bad patches in life and now I am happy where I'm at. So don't feel guilty. And hey, at least you're not a handsome jerk.'

Mindy stared at Danny and felt her skin turn red. 'What?'

'I know what you think of me,' he grinned. 'Gwen told me.'

'I am going to kill Gwen the next time I see her!'

'Okay, calm down. Look, to thank you for what you did with Christina because she deserved it, I'm going to take you to see You've Got Mail. They're showing it at the cinema.'

'Oh my God. Danny you would do that for me?' She smiled.

'It's the least I can do since you nearly bit my ex-wife's head off.'

'You're the best!' She reached out and hugged him while the taxi driver rolled his eyes. She felt Danny tense up under her touch and she felt his breath on her cheek. _Is it me or is it really cold in here?_

Danny and Mindy watched 'You've Got Mail' sitting in the back of the cinema. They talked throughout most of it, which irritated the other viewers. But they didn't care. They were going to enjoy themselves, whether it actually meant watching the movie or not.


	10. Bon Voyage Mindy Lahiri

The next two days consisted of Mindy buying supplies for Haiti and arranging what would happen to her apartment while she was away. She didn't like the idea of renting it out to some pervert or psycho so she thought it would be best to let Danny keep her keys and for the office to maintain it (she was their best doctor after all, it was the least they could do). The stress didn't die down though. She was constantly thinking about whether going to Haiti was the right thing. It was the biggest decision she was ever going to make and yes, the mother of the triplets said sometimes it is okay to say yes, yet Mindy felt like saying no. When she cut her hair for Casey, she was on a rush of adrenaline. She didn't realise the implications that could happen… the fact that she was actually leaving for Haiti. It seemed so surreal and then Danny had decided to mess her head up even more.

Mindy was getting ready for work on Tuesday morning, when Casey had hugged her from behind. She loved when he did that, which didn't help considering her situation with Danny.

'Hey babe! I've got some news.'

'Oh yeah? What is it?' She turned to face him and saw a guilty look.

'Well, I just found out that our flight is actually on the 3rd June, not 6th. So next Monday basically.'

Mindy glared at him. 'WHAT?'

'I'm sorry babe. When I called the airline they said it was the 6th but then when I checked our e-tickets it said the 3rd. I called them again and they said it was an error and that everyone on our flight is in the same position as us.'

'That's bullshit Casey. You really believe them? I can't believe this! And you tell me now?'

'Okay no need to swear Mindy. It is what it is; I can't do anything about it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier but I only found out yesterday and you were busy with stuff. I didn't expect it to be such a big deal, I mean it's only three days earlier, right?'

'Casey, whether it is one day earlier or a week earlier, it doesn't matter! You should have told me. You're lucky everything is close to being sorted out. Oh and I can swear if I like!' She went to grab her coat and scarf.

'Babe, I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?' He did that adorable face where he put his bottom lip out with his puppy dog eyes.

Mindy couldn't help but forgive him. He was just an innocent minister who made mistakes, quite a lot in fact. But he was a person she could never hate.

'Yeah, I forgive you.' She headed towards the door.

'Can I have a kiss?' He walked towards her and took her hand to kiss it.

'No.' She walked out leaving him standing there, all alone.

She couldn't believe this. She was leaving in six days. It was as if the world was closing in on her. It was only three days earlier but she figured she had enough time to make a decision quickly. Now, it seemed like she was forced to go to Haiti. She was late for work as well, when she left it was 8:40am and she only had twenty minutes until work started. Danny was going to get annoyed.

Mindy entered the office and saw everyone preoccupied. Danny was at the reception desk, going through paperwork, Betsy was in a call, Tamra and Morgan were actually discussing work and Jeremy was probably in his office with a patient. She checked the time; 9:30am.

'Guys, I have an announcement.'

Everyone other than Danny was still occupied. She looked at Danny and saw his face in a worried expression. It was making her uncomfortable.

'GUYS! I have something to say.'

Jeremy had come out with his patient and said his goodbyes. He walked towards the desk while everyone turned to face Mindy.

'I'm leaving next Monday. It was supposed to be next Thursday but Casey was an idiot and found out yesterday that that was not the case.' She sighed. 'So that means my last day is Thursday… Betsy can you arrange all my patients after then to be covered by Danny or Jeremy?'

The next ten minutes revolved everyone hustling and bustling to accommodate Mindy's new schedule. Danny stood where he was, just staring at Mindy. She looked back at him, as if they had an unspoken conversation.

Danny couldn't believe it. Mindy was leaving in six days. She was leaving for good and he might not ever see her again. As they looked at each other, it was like the last time. He broke eye contact as he felt his head throbbing and retreated into his office, leaving Mindy staring after him.

He sat in his chair and contemplated his options. He had decided on the Friday when Mindy fainted that he couldn't fight for her anymore. He had caused her to be distraught which ultimately led her to be in danger. Danny couldn't deal with that again. But she was leaving. She was going to another country with her boyfriend that was the luckiest guy in the world. If he was never going to see her again, he had to do something. Have the perfect goodbye.

The rest of the day involved Mindy in her office the whole time. Danny took the opportunity to talk to Morgan and Betsy.

'Hey Dr. C. What's the deal?'

'I think we should throw a going away party for Mindy.'

'Err… Dr. C, no offence but you already threw one for her in your apartment remember?'

'I know, but look how that ended. She needs a proper goodbye, without any disaster. We should hold it in the office, so it's only us that are there. What do you think?'

'That's great idea!' Betsy squealed. 'Me and Morgan will arrange it.'

'No, I want to do it if that's okay. I just asked for your help.'

Morgan and Betsy gave each other a look.

'I shouldn't be saying this Dr. C as you are my boss but you are also my best friend. We know that you love Dr. L.'

Danny looked at both of them, nodding their heads. He could feel sweat entering his forehead.

'What? That's ridiculous.'

'You don't need to pretend Dr. Castellano! We've known for a long time.'

Danny shivered. Did everyone know?

'Yeah, I do.' He grimaced as he admitted his feelings for the first time. 'Please don't tell anyone.'

'You should tell her. Before she leaves.'

'I don't know, Morgan. She's head over heels in love with Casey. I don't want to get in the way of things.'

'But Dr. C! You never know, she might feel the same.'

'Look guys, I appreciate your concern but there's no point discussing this anymore. Let's just focus on the party okay?' He couldn't deal with this conversation anymore.

'Okay.'

The arrangements were under way. Morgan stood outside Mindy's door to make sure only patients entered and left. Betsy and Tamra placed the decorations around the office while Jeremy selected a Mindy playlist. Danny had gone out to buy a huge card for the office to write one and a separate card for him. He had also bought some gifts that he thought Mindy would like; a pink teddy bear (did he really know Mindy that well?), some bath oils (required assistance from an assistant) and One Direction's album (he had no idea what music she listened to other than Katy Perry hence also required assistance). It was a long and exhausting day.

Mindy went to open her door when she found Morgan outside.

'What's going on?'

'Dr. L! What are you doing out here?'

'Morgan, I do have the right to enter and leave my office whenever I want?'

'Oh yeah, you do. But you should go back inside.'

'Why? I'm done for the day. It's time I get home.'

'Just go back in, please! We're organising a surprise for you.'

Mindy laughed. 'Morgan, it's not a surprise if you tell me it's a surprise.'

'DAMN IT!' Morgan hit his forehead on the door. 'Just please go back in?'

'Well no, I mean I want to know what's going on!'

'Well Danny's not back yet so when he comes then you can come out okay?'

Mindy smiled at the thought of Danny being involved in her surprise. 'Okay then. I'll just go on Instagram.' She headed back into her room.

Danny arrived ten minutes later with a gifts and balloons. He smiled when he entered the break room. Everything was perfect. The refreshments were placed on the table; a huge banner saying 'We will miss you!' was placed by the window and everyone had party hats on. In Danny's mind, he would have hated this type of party but it was for Mindy. He would do anything for Mindy.

He wanted to be the one who brought Mindy into the room. So he headed towards her door and knocked. He entered anyway.

'Hey, Min. I've got a surprise for you.'

Mindy looked up and smiled. 'I know. Morgan told me.'

Danny stared back and prayed Morgan didn't say what he had admitted a few hours ago. 'He did?'

'Yeah. I'm coming.'

'Okay.'

Mindy walked towards him and linked her arm through his. He felt shivers as she touched him.

They entered the room and a huge smile crossed Mindy's face. Danny looked at her and smiled in response. It was the smile he would die to see every day. She looked at him and then to everyone else.

'Aww guys, thank you so much!' She went towards everyone and gave them hugs.

'Our pleasure, Dr. L! Dr. C organised it.' Betsy pointed towards Danny.

Danny put his hands in his pockets as a defence mechanism. 'Ahh it was nothing.'

'This doesn't look like nothing, Danny.' She walked towards him and hugged him for the longest. He took the time to smell her hair, the little that was left. He put his arms around her waist and felt everyone's eyes watching him. Danny tensed and let go.

'It's fine, Min. We all will miss you.' He smiled.

'Still, thank you again.' She kissed his cheek. He felt the touch of her kiss linger. The hairs on his skin rose and he gave a small smile.

Mindy turned towards the others. 'Let's get some music going!'

Jeremy pressed play on the CD player and One Direction started playing.

'I love One Direction! Thanks you guys.'

The party was a success. Mindy and the girls danced for the majority, with Jeremy and Morgan placing bets on how long Mindy would last in Haiti. Danny stood by the refrigerator and observed Mindy. He loved the way she presented her butt to everyone, as if trying to show off yet it backfired as everyone was used to this. He loved the way she screamed when a song she loved came on. The way she danced, the way she smiled, the way she looked at him. He could have been standing there watching her forever. And then it dawned on him. Thursday was the last day. What would he do with his life when she went? He didn't want to think. It was just too much for him.

Mindy and Danny were the last ones left. Morgan and Betsy felt the need to let Danny have his moment, hence forced everyone out with no explanations without Mindy realising herself. He started to clear up when he forgot about the cards.

'Min, here's the goodbye card from the office.'

'Thank you.' She opened it to find messages scrawled over everywhere. She laughed without even reading it.

'I'm going to miss you guys so much.' She felt a tear leaving her cheek.

'Hey, don't cry. You're going to Haiti with your boyfriend who loves you. You should be happy to be leaving us losers.'

'Don't say that, Danny. I love you guys.' She read through each message.

_Hey Dr. L! It's me, Morgan in case you can't recognise the handwriting. I'm gonna miss you loads and I have been thinking of kidnapping you and taking you to Otisville but then I realised it is illegitimate (am I using that word right?) Anyway, I hope you have a great trip, come back soon. Bones and I will be waiting for you! Xxx (I always see crosses after letters but I don't know what it means, I hope I've used it correctly)._

_Dr. L! I'm going to miss you a lot. You're my best friend here! Who do I share my lunch with now? I know Morgan is next in line but I'm quite reluctant on that. I hope you come soon, we're all waiting for you! Love Betsy xxxxxxxxxx_

_Hey, Mindy. It's Jeremy here. Of course you'd know that because my writing is the best. I will miss you, I'm afraid to admit. We've had some good memories, you know what I mean. You better be married by the time you come back, so I am free from your flirty smiles. Be safe and happy. _

_Yo Dr. L! It's Tamra here. I don't know you that well but have a good trip. Dr. C told me to write a message and I'm not sure what to say. Say holler to my people in Haiti! See you soon! X_

Mindy laughed. Tamra was always clueless when it came to associating people. Then again, she had only joined. She noticed Danny's message was missing. It was his she had been looking forward to the most.

'Hey Danny, where's-'

Danny had his hand out with a card. She smiled as she understood that he had so much to say that it couldn't fit in a group card.

'Can you do me a favour? Will you read it when I'm not here?' She saw a lost man looking back at her.

'Of course. Let's go home.' They walked out linking arms.

_Mindy,_

_It's hard for me to write this, knowing you're leaving us. Well if I'm honest, you're leaving me. You're the only friend who's been there for me the most. The others don't understand me like you do. I mean, it's not their fault. I hardly ever open up. With you, I'm comfortable. I find it difficult to say things face to face. I need to do something about this but for now, just read._

_I'm going to miss you so much, Mindy. Who is going to annoy me every day? Who do I insult about their feminist ideas and what not? You light up the office and you cheer me up on a bad day. I'm going to feel lonely now. Jeremy will continue to find women to hook up with and he'll probably forget I exist. Morgan will be there I guess, but still. It's not the same._

_Christina really ruined my life. She made me a grumpy closed-off person. But when you became my friend, I started to enjoy life. But you're leaving now…_

_I don't want to end on a depressing note so I'm just going to say, have a nice trip. Be happy and write me often if you can. Or email. Or call. I don't mind._

_Love Danny x_

Mindy started to well up. Danny was tearing at her heartstrings in any way possible. She was going to miss him too. She was going to miss him so much. She wouldn't be able to see his face anymore. She wouldn't be able to insult him or joke with him about anything. If she did, it would have to be over letters. It wouldn't be the same.


	11. Hey There Mindy

(Hey There Mindy is a pun on the song Hey There Delilah)

It was Thursday. Her last day and the last time she'd see Danny. She had the perfect goodbye yesterday but it wasn't enough. She felt like there were so many words to say to him but she was scared. What exactly would she say? Just last week she had spent her time with him, in Staten Island. And now, she would casually slip away and the fear of losing touch with him and the other important people in her life struck her.

The day was long. She had three patients to see, all of whom were near to giving birth. The last patient was Mrs. Rachel Holloway and she was going to be transferred to Danny. Mindy loved Rachel; she was so bubbly and kind. She frequently bought Mindy gifts as well. If only all her patients were like that, Mindy wished. She was really going to miss delivering babies. It was always stressful but she loved her job. Every baby was different and unique. Going to Haiti would change things.

The office decided to go out for drinks as it was her last day, even though it was a Thursday. She was all dressed up, in a red blouse and black shorts, trying to pull off a Michael Jackson look. Whether she was successful or not, was debatable. Mindy, Danny and Morgan were in one cab while the other three were in another one.

'It's so clear that Dr. Reed and Betsy have a thing for each other.' Mindy announced.

Morgan nodded. 'I know. I don't get why he can't ask her out, he's such a ladies man already.'

'I know! I mean, they suit each other so much. Everyone knows their deal except them.'

'Hmm, if he told her how he felt, then I'm sure things would be a lot easier.' Morgan implied to which Danny stared at him, nudging him in the elbow. He was not going to tell Mindy anything. She would be happier not knowing.

They all spent the night drinking and enjoying themselves. Danny couldn't help but feel depressed. Mindy had constantly tried to get him to dance with the others but he stayed sitting at the bar. Tonight was supposed to be a good night. Why couldn't he just enjoy the last day they had together?

Mindy had noticed his behaviour. It was starting to anger her. Their last day and he couldn't even dance with her? Yeah, he was depressed at her leaving but so was she. It was no excuse.

Grabbing his leather jacket, she pulled him outside of the club.

'What is wrong with you Danny?'

'Nothing's wrong Mindy. I'm just tired.'

'Don't pull that crap with me, Danny. I read your card and I know how much me leaving is affecting you. But you have no right to act depressed when it's my last day! We won't see each other for a long time and you decide to stay in a corner to yourself? I'm sorry but you're disgusting.'

'I'm disgusting?' They were causing passers-by to stare at them with weird looks. 'You're calling me disgusting?'

'Yes. I'm fed up of your attitude and it's just a downer on what is supposed to be a great night.'

'I'm sorry I'm not acting ecstatic but what do you expect? As you said, you're leaving. I'm sad about that and when I'm sad, I don't dance to try and make myself feel better.'

'I know you're sad Danny. But do you really think sitting by yourself is going to solve the problem?'

'Mindy, just be quiet. I'm fed up of your callous attitude. How can you go to Haiti with a boyfriend you've only known for three months? It makes no sense! Your obsession with romance is going over the top okay?'

Mindy grabbed his arm. 'Don't tell me what to do Danny. I'm going to Haiti whether you like it or not.'

'Fine, go! It's not like I matter to you anyway.'

'Of course you matter to me! Otherwise we wouldn't be having this discussion!'

'Well if I matter to you, why are you going?'

Mindy was silent.

'Exactly.'

'I'm going because I don't think I can ever find love again. Remember you said that I might have a kid under the buzzer? I don't want that okay? I want to find someone now so I don't have to go through heartbreak again. It's the only option I have.'

Danny was silent this time. Mindy started to cry.

'I'm scared, Danny. Maybe Casey isn't the right guy for me. But how do I know without taking a chance?'

'There is someone out there for you Min.'

'Yeah right, because you know that Danny. You yourself are divorced. How can you guarantee you will find someone?'

'I…'

'See? You can't even answer the question. So don't tell me that I'm making the wrong choice.'

'You are making the wrong choice.'

'What did I just say Danny?'

'You are making the wrong choice.'

'You're unbelievable.' She was about to turn into the club when he grabbed her hand.

'I've found someone.'

Mindy looked at him in shock.

'She's amazing, really. I love talking to her even though we disagree on almost anything. She makes me laugh. She makes me look forward to waking up the next day all because I see her face. When I'm with her, I don't know what to do. She makes me nervous. I pray I don't sweat excessively in front of her; otherwise she'd just laugh at me. Her laugh. It's like a drug. Her voice is so high pitched I used to hate it but now it's the only voice I long to hear. She had beautiful long hair that went past her shoulders and whenever I was near her I'd try to smell it because she smelt like peaches. Then she cut it and now we have the same haircut. But it doesn't matter, because she's perfect to me. When she cries, I feel like crying. The only time she should cry is when she is happy. It breaks my heart to see her cry. It kills me. When she's in danger, I get scared. I don't want anything to happen to her. I want to protect her from all the scumbags that just use her and dump her like she's a Chinese takeaway. The only reason why she goes after these guys is because she's scared herself. She's scared that she'll end up as some weird old cat lady. She loves to love. When she loves someone, she puts her all into it. That person is the centre of her mind, that person revolves around her. She doesn't hold back, even if that means going to another country. I love annoying her. She punches me and hits me, but it never hurts. I see a small smile each time I irritate her, because she loves it. I live just to see that smile. I wish I could kiss her right now and hold her. I wish she was mine. She is everything I want to be and more. I can't imagine life without her. I love her and I know that deep down she loves me too.'

Mindy stared at this person in front of her for a split second. And then she ran away.


	12. The Journey of Casey and Mindy

Mindy didn't know where she was going and what she was doing. She found herself in an alleyway; where there was garbage stranded everywhere. The wind was extreme and she regretted her choice of outfit. She leaned on the wall, panting and then started to cry.

_How can Danny love me? I'm Mindy Lahiri. I'm selfish, I only care about myself, I ignore others when it suits me. I do whatever I like and I drag people down with me. Including Danny. So why does he love me? I have done nothing but annoy him. I'm the polar opposite of him. Forget the 'opposites attract' crap, this is reality Mindy. Romantic comedies are lies at the end of the day. You never get a man who hates romance falling for a woman obsessed with romance. That only happens in the movies. And life is NOT like the movies. Haha, Katy Perry. See, I like Katy Perry whereas Danny doesn't. He hates the majority of the things I love. So it can't be love. No it can't. Why did I run away? Now he probably hates me and I've lost the person I care about more than myself. Damn you, Mindy Lahiri. You are a loser and you should just die. You don't deserve Casey and you sure as hell don't deserve Danny._

She left the alleyway and slowly started walking to her apartment. All she wanted was to be alone. To think things through. As if she hadn't been doing that all this time anyway.

Opening the door to her apartment, she ran to her bed and cried some more. Her mascara ran all over her pillow and her bed sheets were soaked in tears.

_I make him laugh. He loves my hair… that's why he said it wasn't a good idea to cut it. He hates when I cry. Well I'm crying right now so it's a good thing he's not here. Now I know why he hates all the guys I'm with. He was jealous the whole time. He didn't want to see me with them knowing I'd be heartbroken. He knew all along. He loves when I annoy him. I thought guys hated that kind of thing._

The last line from Danny's confession stuck in her mind.

_He loves me and he knows deep down I love him too._

She gathered herself and went to her mirror in her bathroom. She stared at her reflection, her face full of black lines from her mascara and her hair all tousled. She had saliva drooling out of her mouth. _This is who Danny loves? I'm a mess, always have been, always will be._

The next day, she had ten missed calls from Morgan, five from Betsy and two from Jeremy. Oh, and one from Casey. She wanted to avoid everyone. There was no way she was answering to any questions. Not today.

Unfortunately for Mindy, Casey had her apartment keys and came in the evening. He found her on her bed, staring at the ceiling. He knew she had gone out with her work friends the night before and saw that she was still in the clothes from last night. Mindy looked a mess.

'Mindy? Are you okay?' He walked towards her and kissed her forehead.

She gave no response and continued to stare upwards.

'Mindy? Why aren't you answering?' He tried to nudge her and shook her shoulders. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing is wrong, Casey. I'm just tired. Please go.'

Casey was confused. Why was Mindy acting weird?

'You're lying, Mindy. Something is clearly wrong. Tell me.'

'Casey, I don't feel well.' Her tone was harsh. 'Please go home.'

Casey sat down on her bed and touched her cheek. 'Please Mindy. Don't lie to me, I know you well enough to know you're lying.'

Mindy sat up. 'You know me well enough? How well? Tell me, what is my favourite colour? Who is my favourite artist? Why do I prefer hoops than studs? Why am I obsessed with romantic comedies? Why am I a doctor? Can you answer all these questions?'

Casey stood up. 'Mindy, what is wrong with you? I'm being all nice and am genuinely worried about your wellbeing and then you just act like I'm a piece of trash? What does it matter what your favourite colour is?'

'It matters to me, Casey. There are people who know this kinda stuff. Do you know?'

'Your favourite colour is blue, your favourite artist is Rihanna, you like hoops because they're pretty and I don't know, you like that genre? You're acting really weird Mindy and I'm not dealing with this right now. Anyway, who are these people who know this stuff?'

'Wrong. Wrong. Wrong and wrong. You didn't even answer the last question. My favourite colour is pink, my favourite artist is Katy Perry, I prefer hoops because they suit my bone structure, and I'm obsessed with romantic comedies because I'm in love with the idea of love. And I'm a doctor because I care about people and want to give them some form of happiness. Don't you know me at all?'

'I didn't think all these things were necessary. Isn't the most important thing being that I love you?'

'Saying you love me is different than actually being in love with me, Casey.'

'Is this because we're going to Haiti? Is this trip scaring you?'

Mindy stood up and went to her kitchen. She hadn't eaten all day and she was beginning to get stress barfs. Pouring out some cereal into a wine glass, she started eating noisily.

'Answer the question, for heaven's sake!'

'Why are you putting heaven into this? Isn't it a sin to mention it in that context?'

'Mindy, what is going on? You've never acted like this before.'

'Well you clearly don't know me well enough.'

'Maybe I don't but is there any one that does? No one will know you as much as you know yourself.'

'Incorrect, Casey. You can know someone more than they know themselves. If you do, then you care about that person a lot. More than you think you do.'

'Okay fine, who would you say knows you better than you know yourself?'

'I can name a few. Rishi, Gwen, Danny-'

'Danny?'

Mindy looked at a hurt Casey. 'Yes. Danny.'

'So you're saying Danny knows you more than I know you? What do you expect? He's known you for how many years now! I'm your boyfriend of three months, Mindy. The whole point of us going to Haiti together is to get to know each other and to strengthen our bond.'

'My point is Casey; you should have known these things by now.'

Casey smiled with disbelief. 'I'm sorry I'm not like Danny, but remember I am your boyfriend. Not him. Come to think of it, you've been spending so much time with him. Going to Staten Island, watching romantic movies with him and then spending all of your time in the office with him. I saw the card he gave you, Mindy.'

Mindy's eyes widened.

'I know he's in love with you. When you came to my service, he stood beside you holding your hat. He didn't have to be there you know. From then on, I was always worried he'd steal you away from me. Then in his card he talks about saying and doing some stuff that confused you. What happened, Mindy? What is he talking about?'

'You read my card? You had no right!'

'Stop avoiding the subject!'

Mindy hesitated. She saw a broken man in front. Casey didn't expect this to happen. How would he know what had been going through her head these past weeks? All he had expected was to come and spend the night with his girlfriend. He didn't know that Mindy was debating everything that was happening to her.

She sighed. 'Danny and I nearly kissed the night I came after you after cutting my hair. I didn't kiss him because I thought of you. I felt guilty and confused. I didn't know what was happening. I was about to go to Haiti with you and then Danny nearly kisses me and I was going to kiss him back. I was scared, Casey. I'm scared now. These past two weeks I've been thinking about me and you, about me and Danny and about Haiti. It's so hard.' She started to cry and held onto her kitchen island.

Casey stood there, watching his girlfriend crying her eyes out. What had hurt him was that she wasn't crying about him. She was crying about Danny.

'Mindy, do you love me?'

Mindy looked up and turned to face him. She saw tears in his eyes.

'I do.' Her tone was questioning rather than stating. It was the tone Tom had used with her.

Casey went to sit on her couch. She followed him and sat next to him.

'I love you, Mindy. I'm sorry that I don't know the most important details about you, I am sorry about that. But I don't think that's the real issue here. You're not in love with me anymore. You might love me, somewhere in that heart of yours. But you're in love with Danny. You've always been in love with him. I just didn't realise myself. When I met you I thought you were cute and funny. And you are. When I met Danny, I saw the way he looked at you. But you were so interested in me I put it to the back of my mind. And then when you went to meet Josh and I found out Danny came with you, my fears were getting real. And then you said being with me in Haiti wasn't enough. I was so hurt, Mindy. I felt like I wasn't good enough for you. And now that I know Danny is in your mind more than I am, well that's the answer right there. God wants you two to be together and I don't want to be in the way of that.'

Mindy kissed Casey and then held his hand. 'I'm sorry, Casey. I wish I could say you're wrong, but I can't.' She sighed. Casey touched her cheek and held his hand on her jaw.

'I'm sorry that I'm not good enough for you.'

'Don't say that! You are good enough for me. I just… I don't know what's going on in my mind right now. I'm so confused. But I do know one thing. I can't come to Haiti with you.'

Casey laughed a sad laugh. 'I already figured that.'

'No, it's just… well I don't know if I'm going to be with Danny. I'm not sure on how I feel about both of you. But going to Haiti just means I'm doing something I know I never wanted to do in the first place. If I was so sure that I wanted to be with you, I would jump on that flight right now. But I think all along I was unsure. And it's probably because of Danny.'

Casey nodded.

'There is some love for you in my heart, Casey. So don't think I don't love you at all. I'm so glad I met you. You've given me some great memories.' She kissed his cheek.

'Thank you for saying that.' He kissed her for one last time. 'I think I should go. If you need help with any unpacking, just call me.'

'I think I'll be okay, but thank you. I'm so sorry. I hope you forgive me.'

Casey smiled and they hugged by her door for a long time. She was going to miss him. But the feeling wasn't as strong as when she thought she was leaving Danny.

'Have a good trip in Haiti. Please keep in touch with me.' She held his hand as he turned to leave.

'Thank you. I promise I will. And good luck with Danny. I hope you have a happy life together.'

She saw him walk away into the lift and stared at the empty space in front of her. She felt empty herself.


	13. About Today

_She ran away. _

This thought never left Danny's mind. Three days ago, he had confessed his love for her. He told her everything he loved about her without even realising. As he was talking, he observed her face. She was looking at him with wide eyes and her lips were parted. He didn't know what he was saying, but he knew whatever he was saying was the right thing. For once in his life, he was saying the right thing at the right time. Staring at her, he saw no expression. Nothing. Not of love, not of hope, not of fear, not of disgust. Nothing.

And then she ran away, leaving him standing there.

He spent the next three days with insomnia and a loss of appetite. He was constantly sweating; like he had a fever. It didn't matter whether he was dying or not. He'd rather have died then go through this suffering. It was the pain of knowing she ran away. He didn't expect her to run up to him and kiss him, like in those movies he was forced to watch with her. He didn't expect her to declare her love for him. In fact, he didn't know what to expect. But she ran away, like he had given her a disease. The image never left his brain; it was fixating every minute he existed.

He was angry. She had no right to run away like that. She should have had the decency to acknowledge his feelings even if she didn't feel the same. He was sad. He would never know what she was feeling. He was hurt. He was heartbroken. He wanted to run away. This feeling was worse than when she rejected him how many weeks ago.

Every time he loved, it only put him through pain. Christina had messed him up to the point where he wanted to kill himself. And now Mindy did the same. This was why he pushed people away and carried a hard exterior. Because all he did was give, not take.

Danny thought about how Mindy was leaving tomorrow. The last image of her was her running away and it pained him. The last memory he wanted of her was her smiling and enjoying her time with him. Oh how he had messed that up. If only he had just danced with her and pretended to be happy. Then none of this would have happened. _It's not my fault. She started the argument, not me. Her leaving is the reason why this all happened in the first place._

_But I love her. I love her so much I can't stay mad at her. I need her to know that._

Danny debated whether to talk to her. He would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't talk to her before she left. What did he have to lose anyway? Everything he was afraid of was out in the open.

He grabbed his phone and hoped there was a missed call from Mindy. But there were five, all from irrelevant people. Before calling Mindy, there was one person he had to talk to first.

'Hello?'

'Hey Ma.'

'Danny! How are you darling?' His ma was always so cheerful whenever she talked to him. She was the only person he knew he could rely on.

'I told her.'

He heard a gasp and then a sigh. 'What did she do?'

'She ran away, Ma. Why did she do that? Why?' He started to cry, tears flowing sideways onto his pillow.

'I'm so sorry baby. She does love you, I know she does.'

'How? If she loved me she wouldn't do this to me. She would tell me she loved me too.'

'Danny, she does love you. She cried when I told her about how hard your life was. She felt it, Danny. I could tell she felt it.'

'What do I do, Ma? She's leaving tomorrow and I've done everything I can. I don't know what else I can do. Why does she love everyone else but me? She liked Jeremy who just used her, she liked Josh who cheated on her, and she liked Brendan Deslaurier, Ma. Brendan Deslaurier. You know what a jerk he is. Everyone makes her happy but me. I'm just her friend, nothing more.'

'Danny I know you're hurting but listen to me. You are worth more to her than anyone else right now. Casey is too, but she knows deep down it's you she loves. She's an insecure person, Danny. She thinks that she'll never find someone as good as you. Hearing you say you love her will have caused her a shock. She can't believe it but when she realises it, she'll come running to you. I promise.'

Danny sighed. 'Ma, she's leaving tomorrow. What if she realises this when she's with Casey two months into her trip? She won't leave him behind. There's no point me wishing anything anymore.'

'Don't say that. Just call her or go to see her. You need to speak to her before you regret anything.'

'Okay… thank you Ma. You're always there for me. Love you.'

'Of course I'll be there for you. I'm your mother! And I love you too, honey.'

The National was pounding from his CD player. He had played their music, regardless of its meaning to listen to the smooth sounds of the guitar and the drums in melody. He had no idea what song was playing until he heard specific lyrics that brought to his attention.

**_You just walked away _**

**_And I just watched you_**

**_What could I say?_**

**_How close am I… to losing you?_**

The words hit him. He was about to lose her. For his own sake of mind, he called her phone, only to have no answer. He tried another three times but to no avail. The only solution was to go and find her.

The morning rush delayed him. He arrived at her apartment just before midday. He expected her to be packing the last minute essentials, hoping she had everything. He wondered whether he had entered her mind at all. Hopefully she was in.

'Mindy! It's Danny! Please open your door!'

No answer. He placed his ear to her door and heard nothing. No movement, no sound.

'Mindy?' He banged on her door yet there was nothing.

Danny stayed for another ten minutes, banging the door and pacing outside her apartment.

She was gone, forever.


	14. Mindy's Revelation

She had heard the banging. She had longed for his voice, to hear him say her name again. But she knew she couldn't see him. What would she say?_ I'm sorry for being the worst person in the world, Danny. I'm sorry for running away when you needed me the most._

Knowing he was outside her door troubled her. She wanted to open the door but something was preventing her from doing it. She wasn't ready to see him. She wasn't going to Haiti… she had all the time in the world. Well that's what she thought.

Mindy had spent her time after breaking up with Casey doing what every woman post-break up did. She realised that she wasn't crying over losing Casey, she was crying about what she did. She had hurt two people who cared about her the most.

**_I didn't feel the fairy-tale feeling, no._**

**_Am I a stupid girl for even dreaming that I could?_**

**_If it's not like the movies_**

**_That's how it should be, yeah_**

**_When he's the one_**

**_I'll come undone_**

**_And my world will stop spinning_**

**_And that's just the beginning, yeah_**

Katy Perry was singing in the background, while CSI was playing on her TV. Yet all she could think about was Danny. She had treated him like most guys had treated her. Like she was worth nothing and her existence didn't matter. But Danny did matter. He mattered to her more than anything.

'Hello? Rishi?'

'Hey, sis! I can't believe you're going to Haiti tomorrow. You know Mom and Dad aren't particularly happy about it.'

'Yeah, I'm not going.'

'Wait, what?'

'I'm not going. Casey and I broke up.'

'You did? Since when?'

'Since Friday.'

'Are you okay? Do you want me to come over? With Mom and Dad?'

'I'm okay, Rishi. I've had broken relationships in the past you know.'

'You don't sound okay.'

She sighed. 'Casey and I broke up because of Danny. I know what you're thinking-'

'Oh, is that it?'

'What do you mean is that it? This is a serious matter, Rishi!'

'I know it is! Casey broke up with you because of Danny, right? Because he knows that Danny loves you?'

Mindy was shocked. 'What are you talking about?'

'Don't tell me you didn't know.'

'I don't know, Rishi. Why don't you tell me?'

'Come on, sis. Everyone knows Danny likes you. I figured it out when we first met but I didn't really think it was a big deal. Then you said you were going to Haiti and I was like, whoa does she know what she's doing? Now that you've broken up, everything makes sense.'

'What? How does anything that you've said make sense?'

'Mindy, you've always had this thing where you ignore important things. Like when I was getting bullied, you didn't realise until I actually had bruises everywhere. But before then I never ate and I was always in my room.'

'I was young, Rishi! I was what, fifteen?'

'Doesn't matter! Look, Danny loves you. You're so stupid for not realising!'

'I know he loves me, he told me himself.' Mindy's voice cracked.

'He did? Wow, he has bigger guts than I thought.'

'Shut up. You didn't have the guts to tell Mom and Dad about your decision to rap.'

'Not important right now. Are you going to find him or not?'

'Why do you think I should?'

'Because you probably like him too. You always flirt with him, it's gross.'

'What? No I don't.'

'You do. I'm not stupid, even though I act like it a lot.'

Mindy was silent, deep in thought.

'Sis?'

'Yeah? I need to go Rishi. Love you!'

She was in love with Danny. She knew it all along but kept it hidden, thinking it was the best thing to do. Ignoring her feelings meant she was unlikely to get hurt. She would be happy to see him, to be with him without the fear of losing him. She never thought he could feel the same way. He was Danny Castellano, for God's sake. He had a type. A woman with class, a woman who didn't make stupid mistakes. So she started going out with different guys like Brendan and Casey who were nothing like Danny. She knew deep down she'd never be with him, so being with another guy would distract her. It would make her forget.

Her nightmare had proven that Danny would never leave her mind, whether she was taken or not. It haunted her. She tried to pass it off as her subconscious messing with her; after all, she had dreams about being Rishi's girlfriend and being a personal trainer – things that would never happen in reality. Yet she knew inside it was a message.

When Josh pointed out that he always thought her and Danny had a thing, she felt giddy. It was unbelievable and she blew past it. Yet his words played through her mind. _You're dating Danny right? Always thought you guys had a thing._

When she grabbed for his hand in the flight, she felt stupid and was filled with regret. And then he held her hand, soon after she let go. _He wanted to hold my hand._ The touch of his skin on hers electrified her. She wondered whether he felt it too.

Then there was the kiss that stayed on her mind every day. It came in bouts, sometimes at night, sometimes when she was with Casey, when she was with Danny. The memory of his eyes on her, with his intense stare never left. She tried to forget, but she couldn't.

And just three days ago, he said he loved her. Every single detail about her, he knew and loved. Even the things that she hated about herself, he loved. Hearing him say these things was like she was imagining it. It was everything she wanted to hear and more. It was too perfect to be true.

But Mindy Lahiri was in love with Danny Castellano and she was not prepared to lose him. Otherwise, it would be a lifetime of regret.

She checked the time. It was 6:45pm. There was no way she could sit around doing nothing. She was in love with Danny. And he was in love with Mindy… she had to do something to make it up to him. To tell him she loved him too.


	15. When Danny Met Mindy

Danny had been on call for an unexpected delivery at around 1am. He was grateful; it gave him the chance to forget Mindy at least for some time.

There were a few complications, requiring Danny to be in the operating theatre for more than two hours. Even though he was focused on the health of the mother and child, he couldn't help but look at the clock continually. Every time he looked, it was getting closer to Mindy's flight. He tried to push her to the back of his mind, yet she was still lingering.

Finally, Danny had completed his procedure and was glad to just relax. The time was 3:20am and Mindy's flight was leaving in fifteen minutes. Anxiety started to build up; the fear of knowing he would never see her again and the fact that he had ruined their friendship dawned on him. No matter how hard he tried, she was always on his mind.

He reached for his phone and decided to try Mindy one last time. He headed towards the doctors' lounge, hoping no one was in there so that if he was able to speak to her, it would be a private conversation. He dialled her number, praying that for once, things would work out for him.

Oddly, he heard a phone ringing inside the doctors' lounge. It sounded like Mindy's ringtone. _I'm just imagining things. I've got to stop being so depressed._ Yet he still heard the sound, getting louder as he opened the door.

He looked up from his phone to see a dark room with candles lit everywhere. Faint music played at a quiet volume. It sounded like Bruce Springsteen. Secret Garden was playing… one of Danny's favourite songs. Nothing had brought his attention as much as the figure in front of him, awkwardly standing there with her phone blaring out the lyrics to California Gurls. She turned off her phone and stared at the person in front of her.

Danny couldn't believe his eyes. Mindy was standing by the couch at the back of the room in her scrubs and glasses. It had to be a dream. She was leaving in fifteen minutes; she couldn't be in the doctors' lounge. He said nothing as he blinked ferociously, trying to clear his eyes in case it was the caffeine from his coffee that was making him hallucinate. No matter how many times he blinked, she stood where she was, staring back at him.

Mindy took the remote and turned the music off. Danny closed the door behind him and turned to face the person in front of him. She walked closer to him, yet kept a small distance.

'You know how I always said that I wanted to have the perfect romantic moment in the Empire State Building?'

Danny stared and gave no reply.

'And how you said that it could be a barber shop, an ATM station or a HR building? Well I found out where my romantic place is. Right here, in this smelly doctors' lounge.'

She smiled at him shyly, her cheeks turning red.

'Danny say something! You're making this awkward for me!'

Danny cleared his throat. 'Err… I don't know what to say.'

'Okay, look. I'm stupid okay? I've always had this dream of having a romantic moment in a beautiful place with the perfect guy. Like kissing in the rain, having someone sing to me or in my case, cutting my hair. And like you said, you never know where and when your romantic moment is going to be. But I know that this doctors' lounge is the most special place to me. Because here is where I've spent all my precious moments with you. Just the two of us in this room, in the early mornings when we're tired and smelly. I know it doesn't sound great, but it really was where I was at my happiest.'

Danny's pupils dilated again, just like all those times where she wanted to know what he was thinking. Now was one of those times. She walked closer to him, to the point where no one could stand between them.

'Danny Castellano, I love you.'

Danny stared at her, and dropped his phone and cup of coffee.

'Okay no need to make a mess, Danny.' She laughed.

'What… what about Casey? And Haiti?'

'I'm not going to Haiti and I'm not with Casey anymore. We broke up because of you, Danny. Thanks for ruining my relationships, as you always seem to do.' She grinned. 'Anyway, let me finish what I was going to say. I really want to sound romantic okay? Danny, I love you. I harbour unlamplike feelings towards you. You make me so happy without me even realising it. You make me smile, you make me laugh and I love to tease you. You get so flustered and sweaty it makes me love you for being so lame. We're so different but so alike. You care about me too much, more than for your own good which is the sweetest thing. I love how jealous you get, especially when I mention Brendan Deslaurier.' At this, Danny grimaced. 'See? Right there.' She looked serious. 'When you told me you loved me, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that you loved me, Mindy Lahiri! I mean, I'm far from your type. I'm a mess and well, it was so weird hearing you say those things. But the things you said, I can't get them out of my mind. Did you mean everything you said?'

'Of course I did. I wouldn't ever joke about it.'

Mindy took his hand and held it in hers. He was full of sweat which rubbed off on her.

'Really, Danny? You have to sweat now as well?'

'Why did you run away?' His eyes were focused on her with his intense stare he always liked to do.

Mindy looked away. 'I'm sorry, Danny. I never wanted to hurt you.'

'You did, Mindy. I've been… can't believe I'm saying this. I've been crying for the last three days.'

'I'm sorry.' She touched his cheek. He was cold but it was nice. She loved the feeling of his skin on her hand. 'I was in full shock. I didn't know any better so I did what I always do, run away from my problems. Except I did it literally… I cried too. I cried a lot. I thought about how I hurt you in so many ways and I felt like I didn't deserve you or Casey. When I broke up with him, he looked so sad, Danny. I felt so horrible. But I felt worse knowing that you were in this position. So I want to apologise. For everything I've put you through.' She sighed. 'I understand if you don't want to talk to me ever again. I deserve it. But I just want you to know how I feel about you. I haven't met anyone who knows me like you do. You know me more than I know myself. I'm so lucky to know a person like you and I'm forever grateful.' Tears started to leave her eyes. 'Come on, Mindy. Man up.'

Danny held her hand that had touched his cheek. He kissed it but still kept his eyes on her.

'Hey Min. I'm the man here not you. You're allowed to cry.' He laughed quietly. 'You don't know how glad I am to know that you're not on that flight. I thought I'd never see you again.'

Mindy took both of his hands and threaded her fingers through his. She walked closer to him, their noses touching. She closed her eyes as she felt his nose on hers, embracing this silent moment that they had between them. This was their time. She felt a drop of water on her cheek and opened her eyes to see Danny with tears falling as well.

'I guess I'm not a real man, then.'

'You are. You're my man.' And with that, she placed her hands on his face as she leaned in to kiss him. His hands moved to her face and they felt each other's lips touch. Their eyes were closed, both living the moment they had dreamed for so long. Danny lengthened the kiss, Mindy reciprocating with delight. She placed her arms around his neck for stability while he placed his hands on her waist. It was supposed to be weird, kissing a co-worker who annoyed them when they first met. But now it felt like the most right thing to do.

They finally let go after what seemed like eternity. Mindy took her glasses off and put them on Danny which seemed to fit him perfectly.

'What's this?'

'I don't know. I thought it would be romantic.' She smiled, while lovingly looking into his eyes.

'You have weird ideas for romance.' He smiled and kissed her again, biting onto her bottom lip.

'Whatever, you handsome jerk. You know, you look like Leonard from The Big Bang Theory with those glasses.'

Danny frowned. 'Who?'

Mindy laughed and kissed him for a long time. If this was heaven, then she would have happily died then and there.

Danny let go and gazed at the love of his life.

'I love you Min.'

'I love you too, Dan.' She emphasised the name Dan as she had done the first time she heard him call her Min. Danny laughed again and did what he was dying to do. Kiss her again.


End file.
